Short-Handed Plainsmen battle Haxtun and Kimball
BY EMMALEE PARSLEY STEVENS
GRANT TRIBUNE SENTINEL
The Perkins County boys basketball team faced a challenging week as illness impacted the lineup during back-to-back games against Haxtun and Kimball.
The Plainsmen opened the stretch Dec. 9 on the road against the Haxtun Bulldogs, falling 61-52 in a fast-paced contest. Perkins County led early, scoring 16 points in the first quarter to Haxtun’s 11. The Bulldogs responded in the second quarter, outscoring the Plainsmen 18-9 to take a halftime lead. Haxtun extended the margin in the third quarter with a 20-14 advantage, while Perkins County closed the game with an 11-12 fourth quarter.
Senior Rylee Schrotberger and senior Myles Bishop each scored 11 points to lead the Plainsmen. Freshman Spencer Williams added 10 points. Bishop also pulled down 11 rebounds, while Schrotberger finished with five assists.
“I knew this game was going to be fast paced and physical,” head coach Corey Potts said. “Getting to Tuesday, sickness started to plague our team so we were left without Colton Kroeker and Ethan Swesey. Our boys battled until the end of this one and with a lot of kids on the floor who haven’t played a lot of minutes together. Overall, I was pleased with the effort and how the boys played.”
Perkins County returned home Dec. 12 to host the Kimball Longhorns, dropping a 67-54 decision. Kimball jumped out to an early lead, outscoring the Plainsmen 21-8 in the first quarter. Perkins County responded in the second quarter with a 14-7 edge to narrow the gap at halftime. Kimball regained momentum in the third quarter, 19-17, and closed the game by outscoring the Plainsmen 20-15 in the fourth.
Senior Colton Kroeker led Perkins County with 14 points. Bishop finished with 15 rebounds and added six assists.
“By the time Kimball came to town last night I didn’t even know if I would have enough boys to play due to sickness,” Potts said. “We had to cut the JV game down to just two quarters because we did not have enough healthy kids to play four quarters of JV and have enough quarters left for varsity. As they say, the show must go on. The boys put up a good fight but we just didn’t have enough effort to hold off a healthy Kimball team.”
Potts noted the illness significantly limited practice time during the week, adding that following the Haxtun game only 10 of 17 players were available for practice Wednesday, and the team managed just a 30-minute shootaround Thursday as nearly the entire roster was ill.
The Plainsmen are scheduled to play the Paxton Tigers on Dec. 16, with results to appear in the next edition of the Grant Tribune. Perkins County will then host the Dundy County Tigers on Dec. 19 at Perkins County High School. The doubleheader will begin with the junior varsity game at 4 p.m., followed by the girls varsity game at 5:30 p.m.