In their final regular season outing of the year, the South Loup Bobcats dropped a 67-55 decision to the SEM Mustangs on Friday, Feb. 20 at home. A decisive third quarter created separation in a game that was tight through the opening half, sending the Bobcats into sub-district play with an overall record of 9-12.

South Loup opened evenly, playing to a 10-10 tie after the first quarter. SEM edged in front in the second, 19-12, taking a 29-22 lead into halftime. The Bobcats responded with 19 points in the third, but the Mustangs erupted for 27 in the same stretch to push the margin to 56-41 entering the final minutes. South Loup outscored SEM 14-11 in the final period, but the Mustangs were too far out of range for the Bobcats to catch.

South Loup finished at just 18-of-61 from the field, including 8-of-20 from 3-point range. They did better from the foul line, converting on 11-of-14 shots.

Crew Witthuhn and Conner Paulsen each scored 17 points to lead South Loup. Witthuhn finished 7-of-18 from the field and added 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Paulsen went 4-of-15 from the field, including 7-of-8 at the line while contributing 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals.

Dylan Pandorf added 15 points, including three successful shots from beyond the arc, and was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. He also recorded 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. Tysen Schacher tallied 5 points and 4 assists. Malachi Neth finished with 1 point and 1 rebound, while Caleb Furrow added 5 rebounds and 2 assists. As a team, South Loup totaled 31 rebounds, 11 assists, 12 steals and 3 blocks, but also committed 13 turnovers.

SEM had four players in double figures that commanded the court in the win. Chance Daake, Preston Beattie and Isaac O’Neill each contributed 15 points, while Braxton Line had 13. The Mustangs outrebounded South Loup 35-31 and matched the Bobcats with 13 turnovers, while posting 18 assists to South Loup’s 11.

As the Bobcats’ season moves into postseason play, they take on the sub-district tournament this week. Their first contest, held at Sargent, pitted South Loup against the Anselmo-Merna Coyotes (13-10), with results not available by press time. A recap of that game will be in next week’s Courier.

The victor in that game will move on to second round action, slated to be hosted once more at Sargent, with tip-off at 7 p.m. and opponent TBD.