With a two game split in action at the Grand Island Central Catholic holiday tournament, the Sandy Creek Cougars ran their season record to 7-3 to close out the month of December.
The Cougars found the tough going against the host Crusaders in the first round Monday, Dec. 29. The 8-1 Crusaders earned a 47-36 win, but Sandy Creek battled back and claimed a 54-50 win over North Platte St. Patrick in the consolation game of the tournament.
Central Catholic hit the Cougars early, leading 13-2 after the first quarter, before Sandy Creek gained a 10-7 scoring edge in the second to set the game at a 20-12 GICC lead.
In the second half, Central Catholic held a 27-24 scoring edge to claim the 11-point victory, pushing the Cougars into the battle for third place with the Irish.
Sam Watts led the Cougars’ scoring attack with 10 points, while three other players, Wes Biltoft, Kamerin Sealey, and Logan Tomky scored eight.
Sandy Creek was 16-44 overall shooting the ball (36.3%), including a 25 percent effort from three-point range, hitting on four of 16 total treys.
At the charity stripe, the Cougars missed all four of their attempts.
Sealey and Biltoft combined for 13 of Sandy Creek’s 25 rebounds, with Sealey grabbing seven, and Biltoft, six. Same Watts also grabbed five boards.
Sealey dished out three assists to lead, and also led in steals with Tomky, as both gained two.
Sandy Creek....................2 10 14 10 -36 Grand Island CC...............13 7 15 12 -47 Scoring: FG FT Pts Sam Watts..................................... 4-11 0-0 10 Wes Biltoft..................................... 4-7 0-1 8 Kamerin Sealey.............................. 4-9 0-0 8 Logan Tomky................................. 3-11 0-1 8 Evan Swartzendruber..................... 1-2 0-0 2 Kaeden Schmidt............................. 0-2 0-2 0 Christian Shaw............................... 0-2 0-0 0 Sandy Creek Totals:............... 16-44 0-4 36 3-pt FG: Tomky 2-5, S. Watts 2-6, Swartzendruber 0-1, Schmidt 0-2, Sealey 0-2. Total: 4-16. Rebounds: Sealey 7, Biltoft 6, S. Watts 5, Tomky 4, Alex Watts 2, Shaw 1. Total: 25. Assists: Sealey 3, Schmidt 2, Wyatt Hemberger 1. Total: 6. Steals:
Sealey 2, Tomky 2, Swartzendruber 1, S. Watts 1, Biltoft 1. Total: 7.
Sandy Creek’s bounce-back win over the Irish Tuesday, Dec. 30 featured Sam Watts again leading the scoring with again leading the scoring with 18 points, as he was 6-13 from three-point land. Tomky tallied 15 more points, while Sealey gained seven, Christain Shaw, five, and Kaeden Schmidt, four.
The Cougars jumped out to a 13-11 first quarter lead, but a cold-shooting second gave St. Pats a 21-17 halftime lead, outscoring Sandy Creek 10-4.
In contrast to the second quarter, Sandy Creek came out on fire in the third, recording a 25-10 scoring run to post a 42-31 lead going into the fourth.
St. Pats tried to mount a come back in the fourth, but their 19-12 scoring run left them four points short in the 54-50 Sandy Creek win.
Sandy Creek was 20-54 from the floor (37%), including a 9-33 effort from three-point range (27.3%).
At the foul line, the Cougars went 5-9 (55.6%).
Sealey and Biltoft again led on the glass with Sealey gaining seven, and Biltoft, six. Shaw pulled down five, while Evan Swartzendruber gained four.
Tomky and Schmidt combined for nine assists, with Tomky gaining five, and Schmidt, four.
Sandy Creek...................13 4 25 12 54 North Platte St. Pats.......11 10 10 19 -50 Scoring: FG FT Pts S. Watts......................................... 6-13 0-0 18 Logan Tomky................................. 6-14 2-3 15 Kamerin Sealey.............................. 2-4 2-2 7 Christian Shaw............................... 2-2 1-4 5 Kaeden Schmidt............................. 2-8 0-0 4 Alex Watts...................................... 1-5 0-0 3 Evan Swartzendruber..................... 1-3 0-0 2 Wes Biltoft..................................... 0-2 0-0 0 Wyatt Hemberger.......................... 0-3 0-0 0 Sandy Creek Totals:............... 20-54 5-9 54 3-pt FG: S. Watts 6-13, Sealey 1-1, A. Watts 1-5, Tomky 1-6, Swartzendruber 0-1, Hemberger 0-2.
Total: 9-28. Rebounds: Sealey 7, Biltoft 6, Shaw 5, Swartzendruber 4, Tomky 3, Hemberger 2, S. Watts 2, Schmidt 1. Total: 30. Assists: Tomky 5, Schmidt 4, Sealey 1, A. Watts 1. Total: 11. Steals: Schmidt 3, Tomky 3, A. Watts 1, Sealey 1. Total: 8.
