Villisca gets win over Nishnabotna

VILLISCA — The Villisca Blue Jays snapped a two-game losing streak Friday night when they defeated the Nishnabotna Blue Devils, 59-58.

Damon Sunderman, Max Mauderly and Travis Herzberg both stepped up in the game, accounting for 44 of Villisca’s 59 points.

Sunderman led the way with 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting. His 15 rebounds (six off the offensive glass) gave the junior a double-double for the game.

Mauderly also had a double-double as he scored 12 points on 5-for-16 shooting with 13 rebounds. Herzberg also recorded 12 points and had five assists in the process.

Joe McKinley scored nine points, while Austin Sorensen had six.
Last Tuesday, Villisca lost to the Stanton Vikings, 60-46. Despite trailing for most of the first half, Villisca was still close to the lead until late in the third quarter.

Villisca Head Coach Jim Obermeier said the team was bigger, stronger and more physical.

“It's pretty tough to beat teams to get to the basket,” Obermeier said.

Fouls were an issue for Villisca as they piled up 25 for the game. Sunderman and McKinley both fouled out of the game.

“We don't have any depth. Our bench isn't very deep. Young kids, inexperienced kids, kids that don't have a lot of basketball skills,” Obermeier said. “We have to win with our first five.”

Herzberg finished the game as Villisca’s leading scorer with 14 points. Sunderman had 12 and Mauderly had six.

“I think the one thing we can learn and take from tonight is we have kids that can play 32 minutes of physical basketball up and down the floor without much of a break,” Obermeier said. “They're tough enough kids that they can do that.”

The Blue Jays went into Monday night’s action with a 3-4 record. They played Bedford at home Monday night, but results weren’t available as of press time. Tuesday night, they’ll be home again for their final game before the Holiday break as they host the Fremont-Mills Knights.