The Chanticleer boys traveled to the Sidney holiday tournament on Monday. The Chants opened with Chase County. The game did not start off well for the Chants falling behind 9-0 before scoring a bucket. The Chants would respond and cut the deficit to five before the Longhorns went on a 12-0 run to extend their lead to 17 at halftime. In the 2nd half the Chants would cut the lead to ten multiple times but were unable to get any closer and the Chants fell to the Longhorns by a score of 57-42. The Chants were led by Quinton Ries with 19 points and seven rebounds.
On Tuesday the Chants played Gordon Rushville. In a reversal of roles from the day before the Chants would take an 8-0 lead before Gordon Rushville’s first basket. Gordon Rushville would battle back and cut the lead to four before the Chants would extend the lead to 10 at the break. The Chants would keep growing their lead in each quarter and finish off the Mustangs by a score of 59-45. The Chants were led by Quinton Ries who had 18 points and 14 rebounds. His night was highlighted by a thunderous dunk in the 2nd quarter. Blake Wells added ten points and Johnny DeRiso pitched in eight. “We shot the ball a little bit better today and we played a lot looser today and that was big for us in getting the win” Coach Gates said.
Wednesday, the Chants caped off their 3rd game in 3 days by playing the host Sidney Raiders. The Chants would jump out to an early 8-0 lead and have a lead at the end of the 1st of 12-8. Then the 2nd Quarter was owned by the Raiders with 18-7 effort. The Chants final three points came on a buzzer beater by Gage Racek. The 3rd quarter would be played evenly. The Raiders would use a quick 6-0 run at the start of the 4th Quarter to extend the lead and keep the Chants at bay and win the game 62-50. The Chants were led by Johnny DeRiso with 18 points and Will Grint added seven.. “We did a lot of good things this weekend and we got better.” Coach Gates said. Gates added. I think we learned a lot about ourselves as a team and what we are capable of going forward. At the conclusion of the tournament Quinton Ries was selected to the all tournament team. The Chants will travel to Cozad on Tuesday before coming on home on Friday to take on Gibbon. Then the Chants will finish their next week playing Chambers Wheeler Central.