Longhorns On A Roll As Boys Tame Morrill

Despite the lopsided 58-23 result, Caleb Reuter insisted after Saturday’s game that Morrill had been a tough team to put down.

“They’re not big, but their guards box out,” he noted. “It wasn’t easy.”

The Lions did gain an early 4-2 advantage thanks to a short jumper and a put back by Taylor Lackey. And Jacob Ramirez netted a clever shot from about eight feet out later in the opening period.

But the hosts fell silent over the next five minutes. Meanwhile the Longhorns found their mark again and again. Jordon Berger stamped out the early Morrill fire, swishing a three. Mike Daum added a three of his own and Reuter snagged a Lions’ inbound pass for an easy baseline drive.

Austin Pile intercepted another Morrill pass to start the second quarter, beginning a break that ended with another Berger trey. Jake Reader found the net three times and Berger hit once more from beyond the arc before the Lions made any more noise.

“I had a good warm up,” Berger said, explaining his 3 of 4 night from three point range. “But I’m just shooting open shots.”

The Longhorns meanwhile stifled every Lions effort to make an impression on the offensive side. Bernie Bridge smacked one shot out of the way. Pile turned ball thief on another Morrill possession. Eight of Daum’s 11 rebounds came on the Lions’ end of the floor.

“He went to the rim and got the ball,” said coach Bruce Tjosvold, acknowledging Daum’s progress in only his second game back from injury.

The 5’9 Berger even recorded a blocked shot during the stretch.

“I have no idea,” he responded when asked how the freak occurrence came about.

Kimball led 34-8 at the half and did not allow the hosts into double-digits until three minutes had elapsed in the third period, when Lackey drained a jumper.

“We ran the floor better and were pretty patient,” Tjosvold observed. “I thought we did better as a team tonight.”

The patience was directed by point guard Zach Rockhold-O’Brien, a prolific shooter who made only 7 attempts on the night, preferring to move the ball.

“Most of the time I’ve already decided,” he said of the option to shoot or look inside.

The team play was obvious. Just before the break, Daum initiated a break by flinging a clothesline pass to Pile, who in turn dished to Reader. In the third Reader threw himself at a ball threatening to land out of bounds, corralled it and whipped a pass to Reuter for two.

At the end of three periods, Kimball stood on safe ground, 48-14.

“We worked the kinks out,” Rockhold-O’Brien said.

The Longhorns may need to play flawless ball this weekend if they hope to maintain their undefeated season, as they face Bridgeport and Sidney.

“We just have to have a really good week of practice,” Reuter said.