East squads prevail in Cambridge all-star games

Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette Cody Wudtke (11) of McCook tries to fight past Arapahoe defender Isaac Watson during boys all-star basketball action at Cambridge May 24. Wudtke's West all-star team dropped an 89-72 decision to Watson and the East.

CAMBRIDGE, Neb. -- Summer all-star basketball games give the participants a chance to showcase their athletic skills.

More importantly, young athletes and coaches get thrown together for a few short days of practice, and the result usually is friendships that last a lifetime.

The 29th annual Cambridge Community Sports Organization (C.S.O.) All-Star Basketball Games were held Friday, May 24, at the Cambridge High School gym. Players who were seniors during the 2012-13 high school season from schools in southwest Nebraska were eligible to participate.

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette McKenzie Nielsen (31, left) of Southern Valley and the East All-Stars tests the West girls' defense of Megan Ruppert (44) of McCook and Tess Whitman (right) of Maywood in the Cambridge C.S.O. All-Star Basketball Games May 24 at the Cambridge High School gym. The East girls won, 71-61.

Coaches were charged with molding a diverse group of players into a functioning team in just a few days of workouts last week before the all-star games.

Both games provided crowd-pleasing action. When the dust settled, both East All-Star squads came out victorious. The East girls used a strong first half to key a 71-61 victory over their West counterparts. In the boys game, the East pulled away in the second half for an 89-72 win.

More important than the final scores are the experiences for coaches, players and fans.

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette East All-Star Spencer Kucera (0) of Southern Valley eyes the basket as he drives the lane against West defenders Tanner Bauer (right) of Hitchcock County and Zayne Gillen (left) of McCook. Kucera, a 6-10 center who will play at McCook Community College next season, led all scorers with 16 points to pace the East boys' 89-72 victory at Cambridge May 24.

"They are a lot of fun," said McCook's Jeremy Yilk, head coach of the West boys squad. "What you do in an all star game, you draw some really good kids. Then you try to try to give them a foundation, a few X's and O's to work with. Then you let them go play, you let them try and execute. Then it comes down to which team shoots the best, which team gets out and runs.

"It was a lot of fun getting to coach Sean, Zayne and Cody one more time."

FORMER BISON standouts Cody Wudtke, Sean Backer and Zayne Gillen were members of the West boys all-star team. Gillen was a late addition, replacing Joe Rettele of Dundy County-Stratton, who was unable to play due to a foot injury.

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette East girls all-star Emily Whipple (33) of Cambridge drives past Chelsea Sowle (20) of Wallace in the All-Star game at Cambridge May 24.

Gillen found out early last week that he would be on the all-star roster.

"I was juiced," Zayne said. "One last time with my senior buddies, and with Coach Yilk, too. He's a good coach, a good guy."

Yilk served as an assistant under Louis Cuellar of Hayes Center in the Cambridge all-star event several years ago.

"I'm 0-and-2 here," he said. "I hate to lose."

JOHN MILLER of Southern Valley coached the Eagles to the 2013 Class C-2 boys basketball state championship. Miller served as head coach of the East all-star squad, and he enjoyed the experience.

"I saw the roster, I was excited," Miller said. "I told them afterward (Friday night), 'I wish we really could take this kind of a team into a season.' What kids can do these days and the athleticism they show is exciting."

Miller had two of his state champion Eagles on the all-star roster, including 6-10 center Spencer Kucera (bound for McCook Community College next season) and guard Dakota Best.

"I kind of joked with them (this spring), 'Hey I don't know if you know, I'm coaching the all-star game, do you still want to play?' We all laughed about it," Miller said.

The Southern Valley boys led the East all-stars. Kucera scored a game-high 16 points, including 12 in the second half. The tallest player on the court hit two key 3-point shots in the fourth quarter to help the East squelch the West's comeback hopes.

"It was great, it was fun," Spencer said. "I got to play with a lot of the great players around the area."

Best added 14 points for the East. Luke Ackerman of Holdrege also had 13 points for the winners, and teammate Wyatt Anderson of Arapahoe also scored 13 points.

McCook's Backer topped the West boys with 13 points, strong considering he had just one day of practice with his new teammates after competing in the Class B boys state golf meet last Tuesday and Wednesday.

Quinton Hite of Perkins County (Grant), Lucas Gleisberg of Medicine Valley and Joshua Grauerholz of Wallace each had 9 points for the West boys. Gillen added 8 points and Wudtke 7.

The East boys led 44-36 at halftime before outscoring the West 26-20 in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 70-56.

IN THE GIRLS game, the East raced to a 48-32 halftime advantage. But the West battled back, cutting the margin to single digits in the fourth quarter before the East prevailed.

"They never quit, they kept fighting; they kept going after it," said Nancy Sorensen of Chase County, the head coach for the West girls all-star squad.

Megan Ruppert of McCook earned most valuable player honors for the West girls with her game-high 16 points. Ruppert knocked down three shots beyond the 3-point arc. McCook's Brooklynn Trew also had 9 points for the West girls.

McKenzie Nielsen of Southern Valley was named the East girls MVP with her 14-point performance. Teammates Rachel Mahlberg of Elwood also had 14 points for the East girls. Southern Valley's Kattie Sadd also had 11 points for the East.

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