ABOVE: Caleb McFate defends a Sutton player in a sub-district game last week. (Courier photos by Ronda McFate)

LEFT: AJ Starr goes after the ball against Sutton last week. ABOVE: Carter Wood tries to block a Sutton shot. RIGHT: Harper Johnson gets his hand on the ball as he defends a Sutton player in sub-district play. McFate, Starr, Wood, and Johnson all played their final game for South Loup on Feb. 25.

The South Loup boy’s basketball team had high hopes going into post-season play. They hit the road to Stromsburg on Tuesday, Feb. 25, for a first-round subdistrict game against Sutton with a six-game winning streak behind them. Sadly, that streak came to an end that night - and so did the 2024-25 season for the Bobcats.

South Loup had made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having won seven matches by 20 points or more this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.6 points over those games.

Sutton came out strong in the first quarter, scoring 16 points while holding the Bobcats to 8. That trend continued in the second period as well, as the Mustangs outscored South Loup 15-6, to take a commanding 31-14 lead at the half.

The Bobcats regrouped during the break and came out in the third quarter with a renewed focus. They were able to find more success with their shots and added 20 points to their side of the board in the period, while Sutton scored an additional 11.

South Loup continued to fight hard in the fourth, losing the period by only 2 points, 14-16. However, the gap that Sutton had created in the first half was just too much for the Bobcats to overcome as they suffered a 48-58 loss, ending their season much sooner than the team and fans had hoped.

Three Bobcats finished the game with double digit scoring; Crew Witthuhn led the team with 14 points, AJ Starr had 13, and Conner Paulsen scored 10. Dylan Pandorf contributed 8 points for the team. Starr was hot from above the arc, with 12 of his 13 points on the night coming from 3-point range - sinking 4 of his 7 attempts. 

Witthuhn has been a beast on the boards all season, and this game was no exception. He pulled down 10 of the team’s 14 rebounds, 6 of those on defense, and had 2 blocks.

The Bobcats end their season with a record of 18-5. For four members of the team, Feb. 25 was their final game in a Bobcat uniform. Caleb McFate, Carter Wood, AJ Starr, and Harper Johnson finished their South Loup careers helping their team to a tremendous season.