The Howells-Dodge Boys are 3-2 over their last five games, winning 52-39 at West Point-Beemer on Tuesday, December 13th before downing Fremont Bergan 61-53 at the Knight Classic in Fremont on Thursday, December 22nd, losing 77-47 to GACC at the GACC Holiday Tournament last Thursday, beating Homer 64-34 in the third place game of the Holiday Tournament on Friday, and falling 51-33 to Hartington Cedar Catholic in the Championship Game of the Knight Classic on Monday.
West Point-Beemer held an 11-7 lead at the end of one.
The Jaguars won the second quarter 12-10 to make it a 21-19 game at halftime.
Howells-Dodge exploded in the third quarter, outscoring the Cadets 17-6 to lead 36-27 at the end of three. The end of the quarter was highlighted by Zach Bayer's three pointer to end the period.
The Jaguars won the fourth quarter 16-12.
Kade Hegemann paced Howells-Dodge with 12 points while Caden Jackson chipped in 11. Connor Blum added 8 while Bayer notched 7.
Head Coach Cole Fischer says Caden Jackson provided some much needed offense.
"After the last couple games we're looking for some offense. We kind of struggled offensively. And he's played well at the JV level, and we said we need some offense out of somebody, and sure enough he came off the bench, and he had 10-12 points, and he kind of sparked us there in that second quarter, in that third quarter."
Fischer adds the team played well as a whole.
"We came in the second half and played great defense. We also have few guys step and play well and we look for them to continue to produce."
Fremont Bergan led the Jaguars 14-8 after one. Howells-Dodge doubled up the Knights 18-9 in the second quarter to take a 26-23 lead into the locker room.
Fremont Bergan won the third quarter 17-16 to make it a 42-40 game at the end of three in favor of the Jaguars.
Howells-Dodge outscored the Knights 19-13 in the fourth quarter.
Hegemann finished with a game-high 20 points while Blum and Bayer notched 15 and 14, respectively. Dax VanLengen added 12.
Fischer it was a good game for his team.
"We got ourselves to the free throw line and shot them with confidence. It is always nice to go into the break with a win and this was a complete team win."
The Bluejays led 17-6 at the end of one. GACC outscored Howells-Dodge 19-6 in the second quarter to go up 36-22 at halftime.
The Bluejays won the third quarter 24-5 to lead 60-27 at the end of three.
The Jaguars notched 20 points in the fourth quarter compared to 17 for GACC.
Bayer paced Howells-Dodge with 12 points while Hegemann and Ryan Macholan notched 9 apiece.
Fischer says it wasn't his team's night.
"They shot extremely well and we struggled to generate some offense."
The Jaguars held an 11-6 lead on Homer at the end of one. Howells-Dodge outscored the Knights 26-6 in the second quarter to take a 37-12 lead into the locker room.
The Jaguars won the third quarter 15-9 to lead 52-21 at the end of three.
Homer notched 13 points in the fourth quarter compared to 12 for Howells-Dodge.
Jackson had a team-high 11 points while Blum and Lane Hegemann added 9 and 8, respectively. Josh Brester totaled 7. VanLengen and Lane Hegemann chipped in 7 rebounds apiece.
The Trojans held a 14-5 lead on the Jaguars at the end of one. Hartington Cedar Catholic outscored Howells-Dodge 13-4 in the second quarter to take a 27-9 lead into the locker room.
The Trojans won the third quarter 14-13 to make it a 41-22 game at the end of three.
The Jaguars won the fourth quarter 11-10.
Lane Hegemann finished with a team-high 8 points while Jackson registered 7.
Fischer says his team needs to regroup.
"CC has a nice team and we struggled defensively. We need some practices to work on a variety of things."
Howells-Dodge (5-5) hosts Humphrey St. Francis (8-2) Friday night.
The Flyers lost 64-58 to Parkview Christian in the Nebraska Wesleyan Holiday Tournament Championship Game on Friday.
I don't know a lot about Humphrey St. Francis, but they were D-1 State Champs last year so I would say the Jaguars have their work cut out for them.
What helps Howells-Dodge though is playing the schedule they do.
I think the Jaguars definitely have what it takes to compete with the Flyers and give them a good game.
Howells-Dodge has to be effective on offense and defense, and play their best game though.
The Jaguars have struggled against the good teams on their schedule so we'll see if Howells-Dodge can buck that trend Friday night.
This game is a big deal for the Jaguars. Howells-Dodge has a chance to knock off one of the best teams in the state in D-2.
The stage is set for the Jaguars and Flyers to go at it for four quarters. Howells-Dodge needs to play well to give the hometown fans something to be proud of.
A win over Humphrey St. Francis could be a big turning point in the season for the Jaguars.
If Howells-Dodge wins, this game could be looked at as what sparked something special.
The Jaguars have to feel they're a good team, and I think they are, but it's time to step things up and play even better than they have so far.
Howells-Dodge has made significant progress over last year, but I feel the Jaguars' best basketball is ahead of them.
I don't feel Howells-Dodge has reached their full potential as of yet...I feel like that is still yet to come for the Jaguars.
A full week of practice should allow Howells-Dodge to be fresh and ready to go Friday night. I think you will see the Jaguars come out pumped up and inspired.
The Howells-Dodge Girls are 3-1 in their last four games, defeating West Point-Beemer 42-24 on the road on Tuesday, December 13th, Clarkson/Leigh 54-40 on the road on Thursday, December 22nd, and Homer 56-37 in the GACC Holiday Tournament last Thursday, before losing 45-50 to the host Bluejays in the Championship Game on Friday.
Howells-Dodge led the Cadets 8-7 after one. The Jaguars won the second quarter 10-8 to take an 18-15 lead into the locker room.
Howells-Dodge notched 8 points in the third quarter compared to 7 for the Cadets to make it a 26-22 game at the end of three in favor of the Jaguars.
Howells-Dodge outscored West Point-Beemer 16-2 in the fourth quarter.
Chelsea Bayer led the Jaguars with 13 points and 7 rebounds while Tessa Brester and Sam Brester totaled 8 and 7 points, respectively.
Head Coach Scott Polacek.
"It was just a nice win. West Point-Beemer played a good defense on us in the first half, and we struggled. And I think we said at halftime we only had 7 makes, so we were like 7-30 at halftime. And then finally the second half we started to make a couple of cheap shots, and that was the difference."
Polacek says the defense came up strong in the second half.
"There for a while it was 22-20. We had a two-point lead. And then I think we held them scoreless for we thought right at about well the whole rest of that quarter pretty much. And then another about 4 minutes. So about 12 minutes we held them to basically with no points so that was pretty awesome."
The Jaguars led the Patriots 15-11 after one. Howells-Dodge outscored Clarkson/Leigh 22-7 in the second quarter to take a 37-18 lead into the locker room.
The Patriots outscored the Jaguars 17-9 in the third quarter to make it a 46-35 game after three.
Howells-Dodge won the fourth quarter 8-5.
Sam Brester poured in a game-high 26 points and had 8 rebounds while Erin Prusa notched 10 points and 7 rebounds. Emily Ritzdorf added 7 points.
The Jaguars led the Knights 18-5 at the end of one. Howells-Dodge outscored Homer 14-3 in the third quarter to take a 32-8 lead into the locker room.
The Jaguars won the third quarter 20-15 to go up 52-23 at the end of three.
The Knights outlasted Howells-Dodge 14-4 in the fourth quarter.
Sam Brester had a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds while Jessi Brester added 10 points. Macey Kulhanek and Ritzdorf totaled 8 and 7 points, respectively.
The Bluejays led the Jaguars 12-9 after one. Howells-Dodge won the second quarter 10-9 to make it a 21-19 game at halftime.
The Jaguars outscored GACC 11-9 in the third quarter to tie the game at 30 at the end of three.
The Bluejays put up 15 points in the fourth quarter while Howells-Dodge scored 10.
The Jaguars were led by Prusa, who had 10 points and 11 rebounds, good enough for a double-double. Sam Brester added 9 points and 8 rebounds while Chelsea Bayer totaled 8 points.
Polacek says Lexis Haase's final three pointer was the dagger in the heart.
"That's your definition of rivalry right there. Those are teams that just refuse to lose. Try to do the best you can. We had some opportunities in the first quarter that we did not follow through on. And they had a nice lead on us and we did a great job of battling back, we got a couple of key people in foul trouble. We fought back, and then Ms. Haase just made one tough shot, and one of the toughest shots I've seen ever taken in a ball game. And that was the story."
Howells-Dodge (8-1) hosts Humphrey St. Francis (6-5) Friday night.
The Flyers lost 50-34 at home to Twin River Tuesday night.
The Jaguars should be able to beat Humphrey St. Francis, and as long as Howells-Dodge comes to play, I see them having no trouble winning.
I think the game has a chance to be close and competitive, but I look for the Jaguars to find a way to win.
Howells-Dodge has two games this weekend and four next week so the Jaguars certainly have their hands full between this week and next.
That's why it's so important for Howells-Dodge to be as dominant as possible, especially this weekend.
The Jaguars have Plainview on Saturday so between the two games Howells-Dodge needs to find a way to be able to rest starters if they can.
The Jaguars will probably need their first string more on Friday, and with a week off, Howells-Dodge should be fresh and ready to go, but the Jaguars have to put the Pirates away early on Saturday and rest starters with a big game against BRLD on Monday.
Howells-Dodge can't overlook or underestimate either opponent this weekend though, and I don't think they will.
I look for the Jaguars to come out and take care of business, and dominate.
I think Howells-Dodge will play two very good games this weekend and claim victory both nights.
This next week of games will give the Jaguars an idea of what things are going to be like later on down the line, in my opinion.
I think having all these games will help prepare Howells-Dodge for a Conference Tournament and Postseason run.
Playing as many games as the Jaguars are in the next week or so is nothing but a good thing really if you ask me.
With that said, Howells-Dodge has to be very tough physically and mentally, and be ready to go hard when they have to.
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