Jeff Cole is in his 26th season as head coach of the South Loup boys’ basketball team. He is joined on the court by assistants Mike Weverka and Travis Sherbeck. The Bobcats are returning six letter winners from last year’s team, including three seniors. Those returning are seniors Harper Johnson, Caleb McFate, and Carter Wood, and juniors Conner Paulsen, Dylan Pandorf, and Crew Witthuhn. Coach Cole also noted a few players who aren’t returning letter winners but who could be key contributors to this year’s squad.

They include AJ Starr and Ethan Furne. “Caleb Furrow is a transfer from Sandhills-Thedford who will provide us with much needed depth,” Coach Cole added.

When asked if there are any specific goals that the team has set for themselves this season, Coach Cole responded, “All we ever ask of our kids is to play hard, play smart, play together, and have fun. If they accomplish those things, everything else will take care of itself!” “Our main strength is we still have four guys returning who have played a lot of minutes for us the past couple years. However, depth could be an issue for us over the course of the season with the number of players that we lost off last years’ team,” Cole continued. “The addition of AJ and Ethan, as well as Caleb, will definitely help. We also have to have a few of the others step up and provide quality minutes for us. If we can get them to focus and accomplish the goals stated above, we will be competitive on a nightly basis and have a very successful season.”

DANAH BALDWIN, STUDENT CORRESPONDENT

On Dec. 6, the Bobcats took to their home court to host the Twin Loup Wolves in an exciting season opener. It comes as no surprise that the team was excited to tackle their first game.

The Bobcats came out of the gates determined, setting a fast pace in the opening minutes. Crew Witthuhn went up against the Twin Loup player appointed for the game-starting tip and retrieved it, passing the ball to Conner Paulsen. The Bobcats moved the ball well, finding opportunities to score a few points at a time while maintaining strong defensive pressure.

Witthuhn scored the first points for the Bobcats putting them on the board first. Despite a strong start and tight defense, the Bobcats found themselves trailing by a single point at the end of the first quarter, with the Wolves holding an 11-10 lead.

Stats were fairly even for both teams going into the second quarter, but the Bobcats struggled to gain the lead over the Wolves. South Loup kept the pressure on in the second quarter, with Paulson driving the ball past two defenders for a hard-fought layup, sparking a wave of energy from the bench.

The Bobcats gained some momentum when Carter Wood drove in for a layup. At halftime, the Bobcats found themselves trailing 25-15, and facing the challenge of breaking through the Wolves’ strong defensive plays.

South Loup started the third and fourth quarters with strong defense to try and regain control of the game. In the third quarter, senior AJ Starr sank a smooth 3-point shot, giving the team some momentum and adding to the Bobcats’ score.

The Bobcats gained some control in the third quarter ending the period trailing by 5 points, 35-37. The Wolves came back in the fourth causing the Bobcats to lose their footing in the game, and eventually coming up short as the Wolves took the game with an ending score of 51-35.

“We played as a team and fought to the end. The little mistakes hurt but we are going to get back to work and keep on getting better each week,” Furne said.