The Chanticleer boys opened a full slate of games for the week with a game against Cozad. The long layoff did not show. With the Chants ending the 1st quarter with an 11-0 run. The Chants were able to take a 13-8 lead after the 1st quarter. The Chants were able to build on the strong first quarter with a strong defensive effort that allowed the Chants to take a 24-10 at the half. “We had a really good 1st half on the defensive end and we did a good job of challenging their shooters.” Coach Gates said. The third quarter the Chants were able to sustain their lead and were up by 13 going into the 4th. The Cozad shooters would start to hit some shots to cut the lead to six with four minutes to go but the Chants would respond with big buckets by Reese Davenport and Gage Smith to keep the Chants in the lead. Gage Smith would hit all four his free throws in the fourth quarter to help the Chants seal the victory for their first win of the year 46-42. “We have played well at times this season and it was great for the boys to see a positive result in the win column.” Coach Gates said after the game. The Chants were led by Reese Davenport and Gage Smith with 11 points. Johnny DeRiso added nine points in the win. Riley Warner grabbed seven rebounds for the Chants in the victory.
Friday night, the Chants traveled to take on the Gibbon Buffaloes. The early part of the game involved a back and forth affair with both teams trading buckets but unable to get stops on the defensive end. In the 2nd quarter the Buffaloes would expand break the stalemate open by scoring on Chanticleer Turnovers. “The first half really came to them hitting a few more shots than us and taking advantage of some opportunities we created for them besides that we played well” Coach Gates said. The Buffaloes would come out in the 2nd half and keep the hot shooting going and put the Chants in a deficit they were unable to climb out of. Allowing the Buffaloes to go to a 58-36 victory. “It’s really hard to beat a team when they shoot 60% from the field and that’s what happened tonight and we did a lot of good things but their shooting buried us in the 2nd half. Coach Gates said. The Chants were led by Reese Davenport with 15 points and Quinton Ries with eight rebounds in the loss.
Saturday night, the Chants returned home to play the CWC Renegades. The Chants came out ready to play and raced to an early lead based on some hot shooting and solid defense. The Chants were able to go into halftime with a 19-7 lead. However the shooting woes from Friday returned for the Chants in the 2nd half. “We had a few opportunities to step on the gas and pull away and we did not do that.” Coach Gates said. The Chants were able to make things hard on the Renegades on the defensive end which allowed for the Chants to hold the lead until the last two minutes where a bucket by the Renegades tied the game at 26. The Chants decided to hold the ball for the last shot in the last minute and fifteen seconds. Johnny DeRiso was able to get an open look with six seconds left which landed in the arms of a crashing Reese Davenport who put it in to give the Chants a 28-26 lead with 3 seconds left a buzzer beater from CWC was missed and the Chants hung on to a 28-26 victory. :That second half was far from pretty but we can take a lot from this game going forward.” Coach Gates said. The Chants were led by Quinton Ries with nine rebounds and Reese Davenport who had seven points in the win. The Chants will host Burwell on Thursday, and then travel to St. Paul Friday.