By: Kyle Campise
The natives were restless in this Lou Platte Conference Boy’s matchup, in which the Ord boys came out on top of the Rebels, 48-42. This was a road game for the Chanticleers in a very loud and energetic Loup City High School gym.
With some fresh new touches to the gym, the Chanticleer logo looked fantastic on the new and very large vision board in the gym, and the hospitality was present from the start. Entering the gym lobby, tickets were being taken by Danielle Thyfault, a familiar face to many Ord residents, as she is an Ord resident herself, and when she isn’t teaching special education at Loup City High School, she manages Ord’s swimming pool.
There was also a free will donation potato bar to benefit the Solomon family during the games. The Solomons are both first year teachers at Loup City, and they have a son that was born in October with a heart defect. The proceeds of the sale went to help this family. This writer can attest that the food was great, and the crowd for this was too.
While starting the game with some cold shooting from the floor, and having to deal with foul trouble, Ord Head Coach Nick Gates had this to say after the game. “We had a lot of guys contribute and step up for us to get the win.”
The Rebels had some real athleticism and talent. ALC was led in points by big man Max Lewandowski, who had a very strong presence down low. Lewandowski led ALC in points on the night with nineteen.
The Chanticleers defense also had to deal with the sharp shooting sophomore Eli Jaixen. Jaixen hit four three pointers to contribute to his fourteen overall points while adding seven offensive rebounds.
In the fourth quarter of this one, with the score very close, the Chanticleers had to overcome losing two starters. With 5:58 left in the game, Colton Thompson fouled out, and then on the next trip down the floor, with 5:42 left, Jordan Williams fouled out also. The Chanticleers, possessing that next man up mindset, handled things well, as Easton Ryschon, Will Lange, and Beau Wells stepped up, playing some important minutes down the stretch in the win.
Elijah Pollard led the team on this night with fourteen points, fourteen defensive rebounds, and a very impressive block on a shot by Lewandowski. Pollard had this to say after the game. “It was a very loud gym tonight, and this is a fun place to play and get a win tonight. We had some players foul out, we had some bad turnovers and mistakes, but players like Beau Wells, a freshman stepped up to help us win the game.” Williams, Wells, and Landon Critel also added eight points each on the night.
Ryschon was also one of the guys that really contributed quality minutes in the win. Ryschon talked after the game about the atmosphere and playing those end of game minutes. “The fans were really into the game tonight, there was a lot of people excited. I was a little nervous having to help fill in for two of our better players, but I just had to go out there and do my job.”
The Chants travel to 11-5 Wood River on Tuesday, then will host 9-5 Doniphan-Trumbull in Ord Thursday night, the start of 4 in a row at home.