In the race to state, the South Loup boys basketball team (17-3) added two more wins to their record with defeats over Anselmo-Merna and Hi-Line and remained ranked in the top 10 in the state in class D1 this past week.

Last Tuesday, in an evening of games dedicated to Jason Reed, an Arnold resident and teacher at Anselmo- Merna who was injured in a car collision in January, the Bobcats completely annihilated the Coyotes 72-41 in a game fully controlled by South Loup.

By the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats were up 26-8. By halftime, the Coyotes had doubled their score, but the Bobcats were still dominating 39-18. At the end of the third quarter, the Bobcats had added another 14 points for a score of 53-27.

The starters gave the rest of the bench a lot of playing time, but still hit the boards hard and the stats reflect that. Cache Gracey was the high scorer with 22 points, followed by Trey Connell with 19 points, and Joey Sallach with 10 points. Freshman Conner Paulsen scored 9 points, and sophomore AJ Starr added 5 points. Sallach had a perfect game, shooting 100 percent from the field, 3-pointers, and free throws.

Sallach led the team with 9 rebounds, followed by Lance Jones with 5 rebounds, and Connell with 4 rebounds.

The Bobcat JV team also beat the Coyotes 30-9 in two quarters of play. Freshmen Conner Paulsen and Dylan Pandorf each scored 9 points, followed by Starr with 4 points.

On Friday, the Bobcats traveled to Eustis and beat the Hi-Line Bulls 57-41. Despite the Bulls having solid defense, they were unable to stop the Bobcats from scoring, especially Gracey who racked up 31 points.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 13-15, but the Bobcats found their footing and cranked up the intensity and at halftime, they made up the difference and then some - 32-26. The Bobcats refused to be held down, and continued to outscore the Bulls through the third quarter 43-33 and finally 57-41.

In addition to Gracey’s 31 points, Connell scored 11 points, and Sallach and Conner Paulsen each with 6 points.

Connell and Jones each had 6 rebounds, along with Gracey and Sallach with 5 rebounds each.

Due to low numbers at Hi-Line, there was not a JV game.

The Bobcats will host the SEM Mustangs on Friday in Callaway for their final regular season game, then move on to sub districts Monday.