On Tuesday night, the Ord Boys hosted Ravenna in the 2-7 match-up of the Lou Platte Conference Tournament. The game started fast for the Chants, racing out to an 8-2 lead. The Bluejays would battle back, and the Chant would take the quarter 23-17. The Chants would stretch the lead to 13 at the break. In the 3rd quarter, the Bluejays would cut the deficit to six before a late run by the Chants put the lead back at 14. The Chants would finish the game off and take a 65-44 Victory. The Chants were led by Jordan Williams, who scored 19 points. Beau Wells added 18 points in the win. Knox Nelson added 11 for the Chants. “Our good moments were really good tonight, and our not-so-good were really not so good. But we were able to overcome that,” Coach Gates said after the game.
On Friday Night the Chants took on the St. Paul Wildcats in the semi-finals. The Game was a reminder of the 1st match up three weeks prior. The Chants would take a 3-point lead on a buzzer-beating three by Beau Wells to end the 1st Quarter. In the 2nd quarter, the Chants would go cold from the field, allowing the Wildcats to take a 1-point lead at the end of the 1st half. In the 3rd quarter, the Chants would gain control of the game before the Wildcats would tie the game up at the end of the 3rd quarter. To start the 4th, the Chants would regain the lead,with an 8-0 run and late free throws would seal the win for the Chants by the score of 50-43. The Chants would be led by Knox Nelson, who had 19 points and 9 rebounds in the win. Jordan Williams added 13 points and four assists for the Chants.
On Saturday, the Chants took on top ten Doniphan Trumbull for the conference Championship. The teams played a week previous with Doniphan Trumbull winning by a score of 71-51. This match-up started much the same as the last, but the Chants were hanging around. The Cardinals were able to take the 1st quarter by a total of 12-4. The Chants would then take the 2nd quarter 10-9 and begin to cut the deficit. In the 3rd quarter, the Chants would rally and cut the deficit to four before a late three put the Cardinals back up 35-28. In the 4th, back-to-back 3’s would run the lead up to 13, which would keep the Chants at bay. The Cardinals would take the conference championship 57-42. “We played really well, but just weren’t able to hit some open looks we got. I am really proud of our effort tonight. We don’t have anything to hang our heads about. Coach Gates said. The Chants were led by Landon Critel with 14 points. Jordan Williams added 11 for the Chants. This was the 2nd time the Chant Boys were runner-up in the Lou Platte Conference Tournament. The Boys will also finish as the regular season conference runner-up to Doniphan Trumbull. The Chants will have their final home game on Tuesday vs Broken Bow before traveling to O’Neill on Friday.