Big Bison winter dates to anticipate

Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Old schoolers could make a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar goggles reference here, but senior Morgan Fawver and the McCook boys didn’t need sky hooks to blast Valentine in last year’s season openers. Both McCook varsity teams travel to Valentine for their 2018-19 debuts on Saturday evening.
Steve Towery/McCook Gazette

McCOOK, Neb. — All sorts of fun will fill the McCook Bison winter sports scene with these being among the best varsity dates to circle on calendars:

Saturday — A scenic road trip awaits though this could be the perfect chance to test those self-driving new cars while taking naps.

McCook visits Valentine and Badger teams who both took 40-point defeats against the Bison last year.

Revenge is best served cold though both gyms should have good heat, so look for Bison victories again. McCook’s boys would love to turn that momentum into a 3-0 start like 2017-18.

Thursday, Dec. 6 — Coach Nick Umscheid has proclaimed this could be the “best Bison dual team” in his 15 years of coaching wrestling at McCook.

Fans can see this super lineup dual the Cozad Haymakers at MHS.

Tuesday, Dec. 11 — McCook’s first official varsity home game for the basketball girls vs. more Haymakers.

Dec. 14-15: A super rivalry weekend where Bison basketball teams visit North Platte then venture into Holdrege one night later.

Thursday, Dec. 20: The first home doubleheader with Broken Bow battling Bison. Bow’s boys won the Southwest Conference tourney last year.

Saturday, Dec. 29: Take a bowl game break before college football playoff semifinals as McCook hosts the GNAC wrestling tournament at McCook Community College.

Columbus, Hastings, North Platte, Scottsbluff and Gering will hopefully all be looking up at Bison on the medal stands.

Friday, Jan. 4: The new year begins when Gothenburg Swedes invade MHS to play a basketball doubleheader.

Tuesday, Jan. 15: District rival Lexington arrives to finish a nice Bison basketball homestand. McCook also hosts the Minden Whippets on Saturday, Jan. 12 after spending much of December making road trips.

Friday, Jan. 25: The McCook Invitational means fans get treated to two wrestling tournaments at MCC this season.

Traditional powerhouse Amherst joins a field which covers three states with Wray, Colo., and Decatur Community, Kan., also scheduled to compete.

Alliance, North Platte, Gothenburg and Ogallala will fill that Bison invite field.

Friday, Feb. 1: A little road trip to Minden should be fun for the Southwest Conference wrestling meet. Northern schools like Valentine, Ainsworth and Broken Bow all traditionally put strong teams together.

Saturday, Feb. 2: Bison basketball teams host two against Ainsworth before taking Panhandle journeys to Scottsbluff and Gering.

Saturday, Feb. 9: District tournaments will decide how many area wrestlers reach the coveted Qwest Center state tournament mats. The Bison will compete in Ogallala that day.

Thursday, Feb. 14: Valentine’s Day won’t bring a lot of love to those state tourney mats.

Meanwhile, area hoops teams’ intensity will peak as subdistrict tourneys start tipping.

All this leads into the March state tourneys in Lincoln which signal one thing:

Spring is near!

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