LUSK – Coming off a big win at Moorcroft, Lusk rode that energy into Friday’s game with the Wyopreps number-five Glenrock visiting Tiger Gym. NCHS was right with the senior-laden team as Ryan Bruegger and Alec Penfield set the tone early. Penfield stepped into a deep triple as the buzzer sounded and the Tigers trailed by just four points 17-13 after one period. Teagan Tschacher had a breakaway layup and converted the free toss to pull NCHS within one, before Jayden Mat-thews’ long bomb tied the game at 28 with halftime approaching. The Herders went into halftime a bit shocked as their edge was a mere two points.

The visitors tried to bury Lusk with a 9-0 run, but Penfield hit another three pointer-to go with a pair of layups and four points from Wyatt Stauffer. The pesky Tigers wouldn’t go away as Glen-rock clung to a 48-42 lead with one quarter to go. Penfield made it a hat trick to close within 50-47 and plenty of time to go. Alas, the Herders’ veteran experience got the best of NCHS in the final minutes as they closed the game with a 10-0 run for the 65-53 win.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

GLENROCK 17 13 18 17 – 65

NCHS 13 15 14 11 – 53 

TEAM STATS

GLENROCK 20/46 FG; 4/18 3PT; 13/17 FT; 48 REB; 20 TO; 17 PF

NCHS 18/45 FG; 4/17 3PT; 5/17 FT; 39 REB; 19 TO; 17 PF

NCHS PLAYER STATS: 

Scoring – Penfield 20, Bruegger 13, Tschacher 9, Stauffer 4, Matthews 3, Stone 2, Miller 2. Rebounds- Bruegger 15, Stone 11, Penfield 6.

Those familiar with Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel “The Strange Tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, can relate to the unpredictable nature of high school basketball. Saturday’s Senior Day against Southeast could not have started any worse for the Tigers as they stumbled through eight first period turnovers. Only a Penfield trey broke the Cyclones 12-0 run to start the game. The lead was 18-5 after one, and it never got better. An 8-0 run by the visitors to open the sec-ond frame extended the lead before they closed with a 6-1 run for a 37-7 halftime lead.

After halftime the Tigers still couldn’t right the ship as SE made almost two-thirds of their shot attempts. Despite a Penfield triple at the buzzer, the lead was 56-19 in favor of the visitors. As the running clock wound down, the final was a lopsided 65-26. 

SCORE BY QUARTERS

SEHS 18 19 19 9 – 65

NCHS 5 2 9 10 – 26

TEAM STATS

SEHS 21/35 FG; 2/8 3PT; 17/24 FT; 31 REB; 13 TO; 15 PF

NCHS 4/23 FG; 3/10 3PT; 9/17 FT; 24 REB; 23 TO; 21 PF

NCHS PLAYER STATS: 

Scoring – Penfield 8, Matthews 6, Bruegger 4, Stone 3, Tschacher 3, Eiden 1, Miller 1. Rebounds- Stone 5.

The JV lost to Glenrock 60-32 as Ben Eiden led with seven points and Aric Eaton added six. They rebounded with a big 61-41 win over Southeast. Stauffer led the Tigers with 17 points while Eaton added 14 and Eiden 11. Mason Wells scored seven and Walker Kupke buried a couple treys for six points.

The Tigers faced Edgemont, S.D. Tuesday night before heading to the Hornet’s Nest Friday night (4 and 7 p.m.). NCHS played Pine Bluffs close in the first half at Lusk last month and if the Lusk team that gave Glenrock fits for 29 minutes shows up, it could be interesting. If Mr. Hyde returns, it could be a swift end to the Tigers season at the 2A East Regionals next week.