LUSK – The Niobrara County High School boys’ basketball team won their final two games of 2020 and evened their record at 2-2. Neither game was very close as the Tigers defeated a pair of Nebraska schools from Crawford and Sioux County.

On Friday evening, the Rams visited Tiger Gym for the first time in several years and fell behind quickly as Dylan Molzahn and Jayce Cummins combined for the first 11 points. Cummins’ three pointer moved it to 11-0, and the Tigers were off and running as they held Crawford scoreless in the first quarter. Ryan Bruegger buried a couple of corner treys early in the second, and NCHS had a 26-point lead before the visitors got on the scoreboard.

It was 33-3 at halftime and Lusk was dominant in every facet of the game.

Mason Wells scored an old fashioned three-point play as the Tigers closed the third quarter with a 41-8 advantage. Once the lead became 47-16, head coach Eddie Fullmer pulled his starters. The inexperienced youngsters were outscored in the final minutes, making the final score of 47-27 much closer than the game actually was.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CHS 0 3 5 19 – 27

NCHS 14 19 8 6 – 47

TEAM STATS

CHS: 7/23 FG; 4/18 3PT; 1/12 FT; 29 REB; 5 AST; 21 TO; 6 PF;

NCHS: 16/37 FG; 3/17 3PT; 6/10 FT; 40 REB; 12 AST; 17 TO; 12 PF

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring – R. Bruegger 20; Molzahn 12; Cummins 7; Wells 5; Kupke 2; Collin Taylor 1. Rebounds – R. Bruegger 12; Molzahn 10; Cummins 5; Wells 5. Assists – Kupke 5. Steals – Molzahn 5.

Saturday’s short trip to Harrison was another big win for the Tigers as Bruegger’s breakaway dunk energized NCHS to an 8-2 first period edge. His jumper and free throw propelled Lusk to a 15-4 run and 23-6 lead at the break.

The second half continued to see everything go the Tigers way as they forced 11 turnovers, en route to a 41-10 third quarter surge. The Bruegger brothers bookended another run for NCHS as Bruegger’s trey opened the final stanza, and Cory Bruegger’s long-range shot wrapped up the 55-20 final score.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NCHS 8 15 18 14 – 55

SCHS 2 4 4 10 – 20

TEAM STATS

NCHS: 18/51 FG; 2/17 3PT; 13/19 FT; 46 REB; 15 AST; 17 TO; 15 PF

SCHS: 7/27 FG; 2/11 3PT; 0/3 FT; 33 REB; 2 AST; 37 TO; 17 PF

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring- R. Bruegger 25; Molzahn 15; Wells 7; Kupke 5; C. Bruegger 3. Rebounds- Molzahn 16; R. Bruegger 12; Wells 10. Assists- C. Bruegger 5. Steals- Cummins 5. Blocks- R. Bruegger 8.

The junior varsity squad lost 62-27 to the Guernsey-Sunrise varsity on Dec. 15 as Cory Bruegger and Wells led NCHS with ten points each. They faced the Warriors for two quarters, winning 23-20.

NCHS is off until Hemingford, Neb. visits Tiger Gym on Jan. 2 for a varsity game at 3:15 p.m.