The South Loup Bobcats rebounded from a tough home loss to Medicine Valley to dominate their next two games and bring home the championship trophy from the Maxwell Holiday Tournament.

South Loup opened the weekend against a sharp-shooting Medicine Valley squad and came up short, 38-65. Senior Dylan Pandorf led the Bobcats with 16 points, hitting 7-of-14 from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Senior Crew Witthuhn added 8 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, while junior Malachi Neth scored 6 points and grabbed 4 boards. Senior Conner Paulsen finished with 4 points and 3 assists.

The Bobcats shot 28% (15-of-53) from the floor and 33% (5-of-15) at the line. Despite the loss, South Loup showed hustle on the glass, outrebounding Medicine Valley 37–32, led by 14 offensive boards.

The South Loup Bobcats turned in two commanding performances to claim first place at the Maxwell Holiday Tournament, defeating Sandhills Valley 71–31 in the opener and host Maxwell 63–42 in the championship game.

The Bobcats came out firing in their tournament opener, racing to a 23–9 lead after one quarter and never looking back. Pandorf led the way with 33 points on 13-of-25 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three-point range and a perfect 5-of-5 at the line. Witthuhn added 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals, while freshman Dawson Downing scored 6 points and went 2-for-3 from deep as the Bobcats won the contest 71-31.

Freshman Hudson Vickers contributed 6 points and 4 rebounds, and senior Caleb Furrow chipped in 4 points and 7 rebounds. As a team, South Loup shot 35% (27-of-77) from the field and 65% (11-of-17) from the line while outrebounding Sandhills Valley 49–29 and forcing 24 turnovers.

In the title game, South Loup’s offense stayed hot, shooting 54% (29-of-54) from the field to pull away for the 21-point victory, besting the Wildcats 63-42. Pandorf once again paced the Bobcats with 22 points and 8 rebounds, hitting 11-of-15 from the floor. Witthuhn followed with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 steals, while Paulsen added 15 points and 5 assists, knocking down 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Vickers added 4 points and 7 rebounds, and sophomore Tysen Schacher chipped in 2 points and 4 assists. South Loup tallied 31 rebounds, 16 assists, and 19 steals while holding Maxwell to 33% shooting.

With the two wins, South Loup improved to 2-5 on the season and claimed the Maxwell Holiday Tournament crown with dominant play on both ends of the floor. The Bobcats combined for 134 points across the two games, showing balanced scoring and high shooting efficiency.

The Bobcats are off for the sports moratorium until after the first of the year. Then they will rack up three games in a week, with a home contest against Hershey on Jan. 6, followed by a road game at Dunning to face Sandhills/Thedford on Jan. 8, and then they will host Bertrand on Jan. 10 at Callaway.