Villisca offense keeps rolling with CC wins
The Villisca boys basketball team continued to show it is a team to reckon with this season in the Corner Conference while running its overall record to 7-1 on the season.
The Blue Jays scored wins against Stanton and Nishnabotna. The most recent win came against Nishnabotna Friday night, 65-46.
It was close in the first half as Villisca only led 24-22 at halftime. However, Villisca woke up and scored 20 points in the third quarter, allowing six on defense.
Travis Herzberg had 18 points on 5-for-13 shooting with eight rebounds, six steals and five assists for Villisca.
Damon Sunderman once again recorded a double-double in the game, scoring 17 points on 8-for-12 shooting with 13 rebounds. The senior forward has a double-double in seven consecutive games and has more defensive rebounds (87) than anybody in the state.
Austin Sorensen also scored 17 points in the Nishnabotna win, as well as five rebounds and three assists. Colten Drake had seven points, while Max Mauderly scored four.
Villisca vs. Stanton
Villisca was able to get the win against the Stanton Vikings 72-36, last Tuesday in front of a jam-packed Villisca High School gymnasium.
Herzberg had a big night for the Blue Jays, scoring 31 points on 13-for-19 shooting and was one rebound shy of a double-double. For much of the game, Herzberg was outpacing the Stanton offense. When the guard was taken out in the fourth quarter, he had more points on the board than the Vikings did at the time.
“We knew they were going to be pretty scrappy and they didn’t have much for shooting, so we were pressuring them into turnovers, so that we can get the ball back and score,” Herzberg said.
Villisca jumped out to a 22-12 lead, thanks to big points from Herzberg, as well as Sunderman.
Stanton ran into big trouble earl as guard Jeff Marshall picked up his fourth foul with about a minute left in the quarter. Marshall sat the entire second quarter and most of the third. He finished with 10 points and four rebounds, making Marshall the leading scorer.
“When he got four in the first quarter, it was a big bonus for us,” Herzberg said about Marshall’s four fouls.
With Marshall on the bench in the second quarter, Stanton was outscored by Villisca 21-7, as the Blue Jays took a 43-19 lead at halftime. In the second quarter alone, Herzberg scored 12 points, giving him a halftime total of 21.
“All he had to do was dribble-drive and get himself to the basket,” Villisca Head Basketball Coach Jim Obermeier said. “Most of the shots he made were not difficult shots, so he didn’t have too difficult a time scoring.”
Vilisca’s offense slowed down in the second half, but they were able to build a lead large enough to force the game into a mercy rule running clock during the fourth quarter.
Sunderman once again finished the game with another double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Austin Sorensen had another big night for Villisca as he scored 13 points, as well as seven assists and four steals.
Max Mauderly was the only other Blue Jay with double-digit points as he scored 10 and also was a rebound shy of the double-double.
For Stanton, Cade Confer finished with eight points and had five rebounds. Jacob Lindgren stepped up off the bench for Stanton as he scored six points and had three rebounds.
Both Kyle Peterson and Cade Confer scored four points in the loss to Villisca.
Herzberg has had a strong start to the season thus far and said the difference between this season and last year has been his decision making.
“I had a lot of turnovers at the beginning of the year [last season]. By the end of the year, Damon and I got settled in to our patterns. It just depends on who we’re playing, whether we’re going to pound it down low or whether I have holes to penetrate through,” Herzberg said. “It just worked tonight for me.”
Stanton 48, Essex 37
An 18-6 third quarter for Stanton led to them getting their second win of the season Friday night at home against Essex.
The Vikings were tied with the Trojans at halftime when they were able to take the lead and hold on in the fourth quarter to get the win.
Confer had 14 points and 11 rebounds to pick up his first double-double of the season. Marshall was Stanton’s leading scorer, recording 20 points, including 6-for-8 at the free throw line, as well as eight rebounds and three steals.
Other scorers for Stanton include Peterson, who had six points, as well as Brady Johnson, who finished with four points.
For Essex, Nick Williams led the way with 10 points on 5-for-14 shooting with six rebounds. Austin Woods had eight points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Trojans. Jacob Ohnmacht finished with eight points.
Stanton 73, Corning 32
Stanton scored its first win of the season last Monday at home against the Corning Red Raiders. The Vikings jumped out to a 23-9 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Stanton scored double-digit points in all four quarters and allowed just single-digits on defense in each quarter.
Peterson was the leading scorer for Stanton as he finished with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting with six steals, three rebounds and two assists.
Marshall had 13 points with five rebounds and four steals, while Johnson scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Confer and Strickland were both shy of double-digit points, each scoring nine.
Stanton has three more games before the holiday break. They were in Riverside Monday night, but results weren’t available as of press time. Tuesday night, they will play in Sidney and Thursday night, they’ll be home to take on Fremont-Mills.