Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

Longhorns fall to Bridgeport in first round play

The Kimball High boys lost to Bridgeport in first round play of the SPVA Conference Tournament in a game played at Bridgeport Monday evening, dropping them into the losers bracket where they will face Perkins County on Saturday, at 11 a.m. Kimball time, at the North Platte Community College gymnasium.

After facing and losing to Bridgeport on their home court Friday evening in regular scheduled play, the Horns found the home court Bulldogs even tougher this time out falling 69-43 to the tall and talented Bridgeport club. Kimball tried to stay with the Dogs early with the help of some treys but the eventual winners were simply too strong inside and had some sharp outside shooting of their own.

Bridgeport won the rebound battle 35 to 17 with lots of those coming on put-back baskets. The Dogs also shot 6/10 at the foul line, were a good 24/34 on 2 point field goals and 5/14 on 3 point fielders. They held their fouls to just 11. They had good balanced scoring led by 6'3" junior Wyatt Pankowski with 16, 6'5" junior John Pappas with 13, 6'5" junior Quentin Baxter with 11, Mitchell Dudden with 9, Jason Amateis 8, 6'5" junior Andrew Nelson 8, and Logan Linch 4.

Kimball was led in scoring by Tyler Magninie with 11, Jordan Greenwood had 8, Michael Ferguson 7 along with 6 rebounds, Jade Withrow 6, Jon Withrow 5, Ethan Land 4, and Trent Rutledge 2. The Horns had 15 fouls, only 12 turnovers, 10 offensive and 7 defensive rebounds, shot 6/10 at the foul line, 14/43 on point field goals, 3/17 on 3 pointers, had 11 steals, and 4 assists.

Bridgeport, the #3 seed, advances to face #2 seed Chase County in the winners bracket at 6 p.m. central time today (Thursday) at the Community College. Bridgeport has a tough game awaiting them but has an excellent chance to upset the C-l state ranked Longhorns.

Kimball, the #6 seed, has already faced the #5 seed Perkins County in regular season play and won over the Plainsmen 61-52 back in early December. The Horns and Perkins County will be battling for 5th place honors in the 8 school field.

Score by quarter

Kimball 15 9 14 12 - 43

Bridgeport 22 17 18 15 - 69

 
 
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