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After picking up a loose ball on the press, Casey Hanson went the distance for the layup to tie the game 26-26 just before half. He added two free throws on the next trip down the floor to give the Plainsmen a 28-26 lead at half in the 55-52 win over Maxwell.

Plainsmen get big win over Maxwell

The Plainsmen captured a big home win last week, winning a close one over Maxwell, 55-52.

Big games like that always come down to turnovers and free throws.

Head Coach Shawn Cole noted the Plainsmen committed just 12 turnovers on the night while forcing Maxwell into 26. “We did a really good job of taking care of the ball,” he said. 

While the Plainsmen were less than 50% at the charity stripe, 13-29 on 23 Maxwell fouls, they made two more than Maxwell, who went 11-20. 

Cole said his team played their most complete four-quarter game of the season. 

He was especially proud of their defensive play, limiting Maxwell’s post player to just 2 points. 

“This was a huge win for us,” Cole said. It improved the team’s record to 10-10 and likely wrapped up the top seed for the D1-12 subdistrict. 

Other subdistrict teams include Leyton, Garden County and Morrill. 

The state has not yet set the site for the subdistrict but there’s a possibility Perkins County could host the tournament. 

The Plainsmen have just two games remaining before the subdistrict.

They hosted Creek Valley on Tuesday and are idle until Feb. 19 when they close out the regular season when Bridgeport comes to town.

Maxwell

The Plainsmen built five-point leads twice in the first quarter, 12-7 and 17-10, the second coming near the end of the quarter. 

Early in the second quarter, the Plainsmen stretched it to eight, 20-12.

Maxwell answered with a 12-2 run to take the lead, 22-24, with 4:11 left in the half. 

Trailing by two 24-26 with 1:30 left, the Plainsmen got the next two buckets to take a 28-26 lead into the locker room at half. 

The game remained tight through the third quarter. The Plainsmen held a 38-33 lead late before Maxwell added a bucket and a 3-pointer at the buzzer to narrow the lead back to two, 40-38.

The Plainsmen built six-point leads midway in the fourth and again with 1:31 left, 53-47.

Leading by four, 54-50, the Plainsmen missed a pair of free throws with :25 left. Maxwell got a bucket with :19 left to bring them within two, 54-52.

The Plainsmen were able to run the clock down and added a free throw with six seconds left for the 55-52 win. 

Hunter Garner and Triston Hite led the way with 25 and 13 respectively. 

South Platte

The Plainsmen shot lights out at South Platte, shooting better the 50% in the first quarter and 60% in the second.

They scored 24 in the first and 26 in the second quarter to put the game away. Cole’s bench got most of the playing time in the second half in the 69-46 win. 

Four players finished in double figures, led by Garner with 21, Hite with 14, Blake Garner with 11 and Hayden Foster with 10.

 

The Grant Tribune-Sentinel

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