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Nora Jameson 

Camden McConnell is left open and shoots a 3.

Wallace takes DCS by 1 in RPAC thriller

After a full week of games in seven different host sites, the RPAC tournament is in the books. Following the opening round games in Wauneta for the west half of the conference, the tournament continued in Benkelman. The weather caused boys’ games to be postponed until Wednesday.

Paxton

In round two, Wallace had to once again face Paxton. The Wildcats were able to compete with the Tigers in the regular season game but the second time around, they struggled offensively, points were hard to come by. 

Paxton put up the first five points of the game but once Wallace got going they were able to exchange baskets with the Tigers in the opening quarter. Paxton was putting up three points on most of their plays, however, and Wallace was getting two so the Tigers had a 16-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second and third quarters were rough for the Cats. In spite of working hard, they were not able to get the points they needed to stay in the game. They were only able to score a total of 10 points in the two quarters.

The Wildcats didn’t give up and they played a competitive fourth quarter, but Paxton proved why they are the No. 1 rated team. They defeated Wallace 54-28.

In the tough loss, Micah Swedberg led the Cats with nine points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal. Tanner Finley had six points two rebounds, one assist and one steal. Kolton Hager had four points, four rebounds and one block. Ethan Bowlin had four points, four rebounds and one assist. Kaden Hager had three points and two rebounds and Blake Pelster had two points, two rebounds and one assist.

Dundy County Stratton

Round three of the tournament took place in Paxton on Friday evening. Wallace was set to play another rematch game with a team they had recently lost to; the Wildcats were getting a second chance with Dundy County Stratton.

The Tigers pretty much dominated the Cats in the first meeting, but as the first half unfolded, it was clear that it was a different type of game. It appeared DCS had the upper hand but the Wildcats were not letting the game get away from them like they did in the previous meeting. 

The Tigers had a 21-14 halftime lead in the low scoring game, but Wallace was saving their best for the second half. Little by little, they chipped away at DCS’s lead. Late in the third, Wallace got within two points, but before the quarter ended, the Tigers added another bucket and free throw to take a 33-28 lead into the final eight minutes.

DCS extended their lead by getting the first basket in the final period but Wallace responded with a six-point run. The Wildcat fans were loud with their team only down by a point but they were quieted down when DCS hit a 3-pointer. They later added a free throw to get a five-point lead.

Wallace didn’t panic, freshman Camden McConnell got an open shot from beyond the arch in the corner and the excitement was back for the Wildcats. The Tigers were fouled on their next possession. They made both free throws which gave them a 41-37 lead late in the game.

The Cats moved the ball quickly down the court and once again found McConnell back in the corner for another trey. Wallace needed a big defensive stop and they got it. 

With 30 seconds on the clock and down by one point, the Cats started down the floor looking for an open shot to win the game. As the clock ticked down to 10 seconds, Swedberg was driving to the basket when he was fouled. He was able to knock down both free throws which put the scoreboard at 42-41, Wallace’s first lead of the game since the opening basket. 

DCS tried to get a pass off for a layup, but the Cat defense denied that so they had to pass the ball out for a 3-point shot and it hit the front end of the rim. The Wildcats got the thrilling 42-41 win. 

Leading the Wildcats in the victory was Swedberg, he had 15 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and 3 steals. McConnell came in to score 11 points and Kolton Hager had six points, seven rebounds, two assists and one steal. Finley had five points, seven rebounds and one steal and Kaden Hager had three points, two assists and one steal. Bowlin had two points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal and Blake Pelster had four rebounds and one block.

The RPAC tournament concluded on Saturday in McCook with the top two teams from the west half of the conference competing against the top two teams from the east side.

Wauneta-Palisade ended up losing to Cambridge in the consolation game. Paxton went on to win the tournament by defeating Southern Valley in the championship game.

Next action

Wallace got back to regular season games when they traveled to Brady on Tuesday, Jan. 29. They will play a home game against Maxwell on Friday, Feb. 1.

 

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