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Plainsmen players celebrate after the final horn sounds in the subdistrict final last week against Leyton to advance to the district final. 

District final experience valuable for Plainsmen

Head basketball Coach Shawn Cole considers Saturday’s district final game a win in terms of the experience his teams gained making it to the final. 

Last week, the Plainsmen swept through the D1-12 subdistrict. They defeated Garden County in the opener and sent Leyton home after they upset Morrill in the other first-round game. 

The subdistrict win pitted the 15th-seeded Plainsmen against the No. 2 seeded Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family in the D1-2 district finals Saturday at Hampton. 

Despite being overpowered by a much bigger H/LHF team 71-29, Cole said getting to that point gives his kids a taste of what it takes to get back there next season. 

Perkins County was one of 12 subdistrict winners who automatically advanced to the district finals. The other four slots are filled by teams with the highest wildcard points that did not win a subdistrict. 

Once the field is set, wildcard points are used to seed the 16 teams in the district finals. Winners of each district final advance to next week’s boys state tournament. 

Cole said it was important for his team to make the district final. 

“I’m glad they saw that district final and played in it, so that way, they know this is where we have to be to be able to compete,” Cole said this week. 

After the game, Cole said he stressed to his players that to be successful at this level, every practice is important. 

“That’s where we get better, every day in practice,” he said he told the kids. 

He noted that in every practice and every game, they have to play hard, not just in spurts but the whole time.

He also encouraged them to get into the weight room, especially over the summer. 

Cole noted H/LHF was not only tall but were also big and physical, compared to his squad. 

Getting stronger will help his team to compete at that level as well. 

Two seniors

Cole will lose two seniors off this year’s team—Ian Picquet and Carter Krajewski. 

Picquet has battled injuries over his high school career but came back and made valuable contributions as a starter, Cole said. 

Krajewski was a big asset in practice, Cole noted. While he didn’t see a lot of varsity time, Cole said his competitive contributions as a practice player helped improve the regulars in the playing rotation. 

Garden County

The top-seeded Plainsmen faced fourth-seeded Garden County in the opening round of subdistricts. 

As the top seed, the Plainsmen got to host the subdistrict. 

The Eagles of Garden County hung around for a half, before a blowout third quarter by the Plainsmen. A 21-12 run dashed any Garden County hopes for an upset with the Plainsmen taking a 64-45 win. 

Hunter Garner paced the Plainsmen with 22 points, including six buckets inside the arc, two outside it and a 4-6 performance at the line. 

Triston Hite also finished in double figures with 17 points including three treys.

Leyton

The win sent the Plainsmen into the sub final against a surprise opponent after Leyton upset Morrill 48-43.

Cole anticipated Morrill would be the Plainsmen’s next opponent and had watched lots of film on them but none on Leyton. 

Cole said it was all hands on deck with his other coaches to get and watch films on Leyton with only one day to prepare. 

Perkins County jumped to a 13-5 lead, thanks to the hot hand of Hite. He scored all 13 points on a pair of treys, three deuces and a free throw.

Picquet had the hot hand outside the arc in the second, hitting a pair to help the Plainsmen put up 13 in the quarter. 

Leyton responded, putting up 15 of their own to narrow the Plainsmen lead to six at half, 26-20. 

They extended their lead to 12 midway in the third quarter, 34-22.

Leyton refused to go away, trimming it back to six before Picquet hit a free throw and Kohl a 3-pointer to go back up by 10. 

Leyton got a bucket seconds before the buzzer to narrow the lead back to eight, 38-30.

In the fourth, the Plainsmen went up by eight midway in the fourth, only to see a Leyton three-ball pull them with five, 43-38.

A pair of free throws by Garner, along with a lay-in, restored a seven-point lead, 47-40 with 3:00 still on the clock. 

Leyton kept the pressure on the Plainsmen, dropping a three-point with 1:39 left to pull within four, 49-45. Leyton was forced to foul and three more free throws by the Plainsmen earned them a 52-45 win. 

In this game, Hite led the way with 19 points including three shots from outside arc. Garner added seven key points in the fourth to finish with 16. 

Humphrey/Lindsay HF

The Plainsmen found themselves down early, scoring just seven compared to 24 by H/LHF in the opening quarter. 

By the half, the Plainsmen found themselves down by 23. 

In the second half, the Plainsmen could only put 14 points on the board while
H/LHF added 33 en route to a 71-29 win.

The Plainsmen finish the season with a 13-12 record. 

 

The Grant Tribune-Sentinel

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