Exira-EHK drops season opener 51-42, Woodbine’s Seth Willis leads all scorers with 26
By Drew Herron - NT Sports Editor / Dec. 6, 2013
ELK HORN – Around tip-off of Friday night’s Rolling Valley
Conference match-up between Exira-EHK and Woodbine, temperatures flirted with
zero degrees just outside the walls of the EEHK gym.
But that didn’t stop Woodbine from starting the game in
fiery fashion, jumping out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, then
using a blazing fourth quarter to secure a 51-42 victory over the Spartans.
For Exira-EHK, a school just two weeks removed from its
appearance in the state championship game for 8-Man Football, there appears to
be an understandable delay as all but two players of the basketball team’s
roster shifts gears from fall to winter sports.
The Spartans might be a little behind in their development
on the hardwood as they chased gridiron glory, but Exira-EHK coach Doug Newton
says that’s fine, and his team is going to come together soon enough.
“I thought everyone did a little bit of something well
tonight,” coach Newton says. “But there are a lot of things we need to improve
on, too. Like I told the guys, this is night No. 1 of what we figure will be
several more to come, so there is no sense in crying about this one too long.
We’ve got some work to do.”
After a disastrous start, the Spartans began to chip away at
the Woodbine lead, clawing back to within nine points at the close of the first
quarter (19-10), then outscored the Tigers 16-6 in the second frame to take a
26-25 lead into the halftime break.
A seesaw battle ensued in the third quarter and the early
part of the fourth before foul trouble started to weigh on the Spartans, and
Woodbine got its separation by hitting its shots from the free throw line.
From the stripe, Woodbine hit 21-of-30 attempts, compared to
6-of-16 for the Spartans.
“When you get down 13-1, it takes quite a lot to get back to
them,” coach Newton says. “We just couldn’t finish like we had hoped, and foul trouble
played a part as well.”
Woodbine senior Seth Willis led all scorers with 26 points.
Woodbine brought its up-tempo, run-the-court flavor to EEHK,
and the Spartans were committed not to let the Tigers turn this matchup into a
run-and-gun.
That’s just about the opposite style the Spartans want to
employ as coach Newton looks for a more deliberate approach from his offense.
“Some people might call us a slow-down team, but I just
don’t want to take bad shots,” coach Newton says. “If there isn’t something
right off the break, then let’s set it up. It’s not exactly about taking what
the defense gives you, we just don’t want to take bad shots.”
EEHK faces a short turnaround as Guthrie Center is set to
come to town Saturday night.
With so many new roles to fill, the Spartans are counting on
steady progress from week-to-week that will turn them into a competitive team
by February.
“I’d like to think we’ve got a lot of room for improvement,”
coach Newton says. “As we continue to jell, and relax and play some
basketball…hopefully it will take care of itself. We need to make sure we gain,
and not regress.”
EXIRA-EHK (0-1): Lucas Schwery 15, Brady Hansen 12, Tate
Simpson 6, Jared Hansen 5, Drew Buckholdt 4
Free Throws: 6/16
WOODBINE (2-0): Seth Willis 26, Colten Hicks 11, Kevin Lee
9, Zeb Schwery 2, Keagan Barrett 2, Clay Schmidt 1 Free Throws: 21/30
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