Split weekend for Pine Bluffs

The Pine Bluffs Hornets suffered a 41-62 loss to Kimball to open the weekend Friday, then followed that up with a 64-45 victory over Lingle on Saturday.

“The kids played a great first half, we were down by one, 31-30 at the half,” said Hornet head coach Will Gray. “Credit goes to them in the second half. They sucked the energy out of the gym.”

Kimball held Pine Bluffs to seven third-quarter points and four in the fourth, while putting 31 more points on the board in the second half.

“Our kids always play hard and I am proud of the way they defended in the second half,” Gray said. “Ultimately, they have a very good team.”

Brady Lamb was the Hornet’s high scorer with 11 points. JC Thurin followed with nine. Lane Nusbaum added six and Taylor Forstrom five. Preston Thurin tacked on four points, as did Scott Gross. Stephen Coverdale added two.

Lamb and Lane Nusbaum tied at 12 points to lead the team in scoring against the Doggers on Saturday.

“The kids did a much better job of staying patient on the offensive end in the second half,” said Gray. “We were very disciplined on both ends of the court. We got back to doing what we do well.”

The quarter-by-quarter score see-sawed a bit, with Lingle never seeing the winning end. The teams were knotted at 22 going into the locker room after Pine Bluffs scored 11 points in each of the first two quarters and Lingle posted at nine-point first canto and 13-point second. The Hornets dealt a stinging blow in the third period adding 28 points to their score, while holding Lingle to only seven. While Lingle outscored Pine Bluffs 16-14 in the final period of the game, it was too little too late and the Hornets entered a win in the books.

Additional scoring was done by Gross, who added nine points and Fornstrom with seven. JC Thurin, Coverdale, P. Thurin and Trent Werner each tacked on six points in the effort.

The next two games will find the Hornets on the road, as they travel to Saratoga on Friday and Leyton on Saturday.