In what's become a running theme this season, the Kimball Longhorns gave their fans yet another huge victory on Thursday. They took their contest at home with ease, bagging a 71-31 win over Bayard. Kimball pushed the score to 50-23 by the end of the third, a deficit the Tigers had little chance of recovering from.
Kimball was led to victory by Kyler Lusche and Brandon Paxton. Lusche scored 17 points along with two steals and two blocks, while Paxton almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine rebounds. Paxton hasn't dropped below two blocks for 11 straight games. Another player making a difference was Ryker Behrend, who scored seven points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Bayard's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Zachary Araujo, who scored six points, and Caleb Leonard who scored nine points along with two steals and two blocks. It was the first time this season that Leonard posted two or more blocks.
Bayard struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Kimball pulled down 14 offensive rebounds.
Kimball pushed their record up to 10-6 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.3 points per game. As for Bayard, they have not been sharp recently as the team's lost ten of their last 13 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-13 record this season.
Kimball won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against the Tigers at 6:30 p.m. on February 2nd. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in Nebraska (Mitchell is ranked 116th, while the Longhorns are ranked 128th). As for Bayard, they won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against the Mustangs at 12:30 p.m. on February 2nd. Gordon-Rushville comes in still looking for their first win of the season.
