Fourth quarter rally lifts Cyclones over NCHS Tigers

Andrew Towne
Posted 1/25/22

YODER – The Southeast High School boys’ basketball team split games with Mitchell, Nebraska and Niborara County over the weekend.

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Fourth quarter rally lifts Cyclones over NCHS Tigers

Posted

YODER – The Southeast High School boys’ basketball team split games with Mitchell, Nebraska and Niborara County over the weekend.

On Friday, the Cyclones fell to Mitchell 55-27.

The Tigers led 7-2 after one quarter, but the home team dropped 21 points in the second quarter on the Cyclones. During that time frame, Southeast managed only four more points, allowing Mitchell to lead 28-6 going into halftime.

“We went 1-for-18 in the first half, and it’s hard to stay in any game when you shoot 1-of-18,” Southeast coach Craig Leithead said. “Mitchell is a pretty good team. They are young too, but we have to be mentally ready.”

Over the course of the second half, Mitchell’s lead inched away from Southeast, outscoring the Cyclones 27-21.

Senior Kirk Kay and junior Austin Short led Southeast with six points each, while freshman Ayden Desmond had five. Kay grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

As a team, Southeast shot 20% (8-of-41) from the field, while Mitchell shot 44% (19-of-43).

The next day, the Cyclones returned home and played from behind for much of the game.

Early in the fourth quarter, Southeast found itself down 33-26, and with 6:28 left in the game, Short sparked the Cyclone rally.

“It showed the heart of our boys. I wish we could pull things together in the first three quarters like we know we can, but they came together as a team,” Leithead said. “It wasn’t about one person. It was about the team, and we were able to come away with the win.”

However, it wasn’tuntil five minutes later when Short connected on his second 3-pointer of the game to give Southeast a 42-41 lead – the team’s first of the game with only 1:31 left in the game.

“That was huge. Austin has been our leader all year,” Leithead said. “He’s had a little down trend the last couple games, but hopefully, it’ll get things turned around and give him some confidence.”

In between those two scores, Desmond also added seven points.

Once the only lead change of the game occurred, Southeast managed to keep the visiting Tigers at bay over the final moments of the game.

“The boys did what we are trying to do,” Leithead said about the difference in the team in the fourth quarter. “They showed a little more patience and had more mental toughness. We started going after balls. It sure didn’t hurt (NCHS) fouled out one of their best players. It was rough, physical game.”

Desmond led Cyclones with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Short had 14 points.

Southeast (5-9) travels to Encampment on Friday for a 7 p.m. contest and to Saratoga on Saturday for a 4 p.m. p.m. contest.

“It’s going to be a battle. They are two really good teams. Saratoga has quite a bit of experience. They lost a little bit, losing Teagan Love, but they are still a good team this year,” Leithead said. “Encampment, we beat them earlier this year at home, but they are going to be a different basketball team than we saw.”