Another 1-1 week for the Wildcats

Wallace had another week of back-to-back games. Last Thursday, the Wildcats traveled to Big Springs to take on the South Platte Knights and Friday they were at home hosting the Paxton Tigers.

South Platte

The Wildcats started things with a great first quarter against South Platte. They were able to put up 20 points while holding the Knights to just nine. 

The lead proved to be valuable because South Platte stayed right with the Cats in the second and third quarters. 

Going into the fourth quarter, Wallace built on their 36-26 lead by stepping it up on both sides of the ball and putting up an additional 18 points while only allowing the Knights to score six. 

The strong finish propelled the Cats to a 54-32 victory.

Micah Swedberg led the Cats with his season-high double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds. He also had three assists, two steals and two blocks. Kolton Hager also had a great game with 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Blake Pelster had six points and four rebounds and Ethan Bowlin had five points, four rebounds, five assists and one steal. Tanner Finley put up three points, grabbed nine rebounds and had one assist and one steal. 

Paxton

Friday night Wallace faced an undefeated Paxton team. The Tigers came out and dominated the opening quarter, taking an early 16-6 lead.

In the second quarter, the Wildcats were able to hold Paxton to four baskets and outscore them by hitting some big shots including a couple of treys. Paxton still had a 25-18 lead going into halftime but Wallace had the momentum.

The Cats continued to work hard and challenge the Tigers after halftime. Kolton Hager came out to own the quarter by putting up 11 points which matched the total points that Paxton scored in the eight minutes. 

Kaden Hager and Pelster also put points on the board, leaving Wallace down by two. With just seconds on the clock, Swedberg took an inbound pass and quickly moved the ball. As he approached half court, he launched the ball which ended up banking in. The Wildcat fans erupted as the Cats got their first lead of the game.

The Tigers came out in the fourth and proved why they are a highly rated team. They got buckets in the paint and hit short and long jump shots while playing relentless defense. Wallace was only able to come up with a Swedberg trey in the final period.

In spite of their valiant effort, the Wildcats lost the game 40-52. 

Kolton Hager worked hard to lead the Wildcats, he had 15 points, four rebounds and one steal. Swedberg had 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. Kaden Hager scored eight points and had two rebounds, one assist and one steal. Finley and Pelster both scored two points and had three rebounds and two assists.

Next action

On Tuesday, the Wildcats played Dundy County. Thursday they will host the Stapleton Broncos and Saturday they will travel to Wauneta for the first round of the RPAC tournament. Wallace boys will play Maxwell at 12:45 p.m. CT.