The Hydro-Eakly Bobcats basketball team remained unbeaten after winning three games this past week and winning the West Central tournament for the second year in a row.
In the first round Tuesday, they defeated Corn Bible Academy 67-26. Thursday, they defeated Thomas-Fay-Custer 74-47 and Saturday in the championship game, they beat Canute 70-62.
“I am pleased with this week and winning the tournament,” coach Rick Gore said. “Normally, we get to play in three tournaments, but this was the only true tournament we got to play in. I like tournaments and am glad we got to play in this one.”
Carson Propps made the alltournament team and he said they played well as a team in the West Central tournament.
“We played great defense late in the Canute game,” Propps said. “We kept fighting and fighting and we got the win in this tournament. We do have to play better defense in games coming up.”
Nolan Gore was the all-tournament MVP and he said he played well, but knows he is capable of playing even better.
“Overall as a team, we played well,” Gore said. “I could have played better, but I hit some shots in the Canute game and this was a great week for our team.”
Hydro-Eakly 67,
Corn Bible 26
Hydro-Eakly built an early 10-4 advantage with plays like Nolan Gore scoring a fast break layup. Hydro closed the first quarter on a 13-0 run and was ahead 23-4 at the end of the first quarter.
Hydro-Eakly opened the second quarter on a 15-0 run with plays like Cade Berkey passing the ball to Price for an easy backdoor layup. Joshua Clayton scored Corn Bible’s first points of the second quarter on a layup, but they trailed 38-10 with a little more than a minute left in the first half. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 42-10 at halftime.
“We are playing really well and played well in the second quarter,” Gore said. “We have been playing well all season and hopefully, we continue to knock on wood. We all just play great as a team and our bench has helped us out lots.”
Hydro-Eakly built a 40-point lead with a made 3-pointer by Kade Kimble. Nolan Gore achieved a double-double when Hydro-Eakly was ahead 61-16 1:38 left in the third quarter. Hydro-Eakly got five offensive rebounds in a row and the Bobcats were ahead 63-16 going into the fourth quarter.
Hydro-Eakly won the game 67-26.
“It was good to get a win to start the tournament,” Gore said. “We have been playing well this season and we are excited about this win.”
Nolan Gore had a double-double, scoring 17 points and having 11 rebounds. Propps scored 16 points and Paxton Price scored 12 points.
“I thought everyone played well,” Gore said. “Everyone stepped up and made plays to get us the win.”
Hydro-Eakly improves to 15-0 on the season and Gore said they are gearing up for the playoffs.
“We are just building up for the playoffs,” Gore said. “We can improve on our defense. We can score and have guys who can shoot the ball, but we have to be better at communicating and fine tuning our defense up.”
Hydro-Eakly 74,
Thomas-Fay-Custer 47
The game was close early as Thomas’ Jaxen Mannering had a dunk off a steal, making it 12-11 Hydro. The Bobcats responded with plays like Carson Propps scoring a fast break layup.
Hydro-Eakly went on a 7-0 run, making the score 19-11 with 55 seconds left in the first quarter. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 19-13 at the end of the first quarter.
Berkey scored two 3-pointers in the second quarter for Hydro-Eakly. The Bobcats built a double digit lead and were ahead 36-23 at halftime.
“Their two big men are hard to guard,” coach Gore said. “Thomas has a great team and they will be tough and give teams trouble in the playoffs. Carson played well and guarded well, keeping them off the boards, but they are tough to defend. We outrebounded them, which was huge for us.”
Thomas’ Aden Kelley kept the Terriers in the game, scoring 8 points for Thomas. However, Hydro-Eakly kept scoring 3-pointers, hitting three of them. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 54-38 going into the fourth quarter. The Bobcats scored 20 points in the fourth quarter and they won the game 74-47.
Gore and Berkey scored 17 points. Propps scored 14 points and coach Gore said they rebounded extremely well.
“It was a good, physical basketball game and Thomas is a really good basketball team,” coach Gore said. “They are coached really well and we were tested. We did a great job crashing the boards and scoring. They have two big guys who are physical and we did a great job handling it.”
Hydro-Eakly 70,
Canute 62
Hydro-Eakly got off to a hot start, leading 7-2 and a technical was called against Canute. Nolan Gore shot free throws as a result.
Propps went up for a layup, made it and got fouled. Propps made the free throw and this made the score 12-2 with 5:20 left in the first quarter.
Hydro-Eakly built a 20-4 advantage, but Canute went on an 8-0 run making the score 20-12. Kimble scored back to back 3-pointers to end the first quarter. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 26-12 going into the second quarter.
“We needed some good bench players this game,” coach Gore said. “I told him after the game in the locker room how proud I was of him. He hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter and he made some big time free throws as well. We will need this in the playoffs.”
Canute got hot and cut Hydro-Eakly’s lead to 11 points at 30-19 early in the second quarter. Canute hit a 3-pointer, making the score 30-24 midway through the second quarter. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 35-28 at halftime.
“Canute got behind and when good teams get behind, they come back on you and make plays to get back into the game,” Gore said. “I was proud of the way we kept our lead and how we played in the second half.”
Canute cut the Hydro-Eakly lead to 39-35 midway through the third quarter. Nolan Gore gave Hydro-Eakly a 46-40 lead with a minute and a half left in the third quarter. Nolan Gore scored a contested layup and Hydro-Eakly was in front 48-42 going into the fourth quarter.
Propps hustled big time, grabbing two offensive rebounds, going up for a layup, scoring and getting fouled. He made the foul shot, making it 53-45 with 6:18 left in the game. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 55-46 and a second technical foul was called against Canute. Nolan Gore shot free throws as a result and the score was 58-46 with 4:30 left in the contest.
The Bobcats built an 11-point advantage and were ahead 60-49 with two and a half minutes left to play. Hydro-Eakly slowed the game down and Cade Berkey hit a shot, making the score 63-51. Canute got it to 9 points at 63-54 and had to begin fouling.
Propps was fouled and made both free throws. Kimble was fouled and made both foul shots. Canute scored off of free throws. Canute hit a 3-pointer, making the score 68-62 with 6 seconds left. Nolan Gore was fouled. He made both fouls shots and Hydro-Eakly won the game 70-62.
“I am so proud of our guys and we played hard against Canute,” Gore said. “We built a big lead and Canute was really good. They came back and I am proud of the way we finished the game. We needed a game like this because we have not played lots of close games this year. We did a great job making plays when we needed to.”