LUSK – Sixteen points in the first quarter and 23 points in the second put the Southeast Cyclones up big Friday on the road against Lusk, cruising to a 67-36 win.
“We played better. We hit some shots and played good defense,” coach Crockett Herring said. “Things really went our way.”
Compared to Southeast’s 16 points, the Tigers were limited to six in the first frame. The Cyclones kept Lusk to nine points in the second to take a 39-15 lead at intermission. In the third, Southeast turned in 14 points, followed by another 14 in the fourth. Lusk racked up eight in the third and finished the game with 13 points in the fourth frame, sealing the big win for the Cyclones.
“We are getting some flow to our offense and we moved the ball really well,” Herring said. “The freshmen and sophomores are starting to understand what is expected of them.”
Sterling Werner had a big game for Southeast, racking up 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including knocking down his only three-pointer. Werner rounded out his night with a double-double, tallying 11 boards, five assists, six steals and two blocks, all team-highs.
Brady Fullmer chipped in 14 points along with four rebounds, two steals and a block. Hayden Anderson rounded out the Cyclones in double-figures, tallying 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Kaden Malm and Sawyer Anderson contributed seven points apiece on a combined 4-of-5 shooting from the floor and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. The duo also combined for four boards and three assists.
“We have had games where one felt comfortable and the next game it was the other and the next game it was the other,” Herring said of his three seniors in Werner, Fullmer and Malm. “On Friday, all three of them played their best games.”
Cade Herring turned in six points, while Brant Fullmer, Bodie Herring and Patrick Swank rounded out the scoring with two points each. The four combined for three rebounds, five assists and three steals.
As a team, the Cyclones converted on 53 percent of their shots from the floor (26-of-49). Lusk was held to 23 percent shooting (14-of-59). Southeast was outrebounded 29-27, but outperformed the Tigers in assists (15-2) and steals (12-2).
The road win brings the Cyclones up to 4-8 on the season with a 1-0 record against conference opponents. Southeast hosted conference foe Burns on Tuesday after the press deadline and it returns to the floor against another conference opponent Saturday, when they hit the road to take on Glenrock at 4:30 p.m.
“These next eight games we need to go at least 5-3 if we want to end up where we want to be,” Herring said of the upcoming conference schedule. “I told them we just have to get better. We can’t focus on other things. We can’t control other things except winning one game at a time.”
