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Bison boys stampede past Chase County
IMPERIAL, Neb. -- McCook High School boys head basketball coach Tim Garcia might feel more like a track and field coach this winter
Garcia's Bison boys promise to be a fast-paced team this winter, and McCook started the 2011-12 season with a flurry and a 76-34 victory over host Chase County last Friday night.
McCook scored the first 13 points of the contest and the host Longhorns from Imperial never recovered.
While the Bison ran up and down the court offensively, Coach Garcia said his team's defense was a big key to the victory.
"Everything started with our defense," Garcia said in an interview Saturday afternoon. "You talked about our hustle. Our kids know that if they're not playing defense, they're not plain, and that's just the way it is. They've really bought into it.
"Our press was extremely effective. Our half-court 'D' was effective. We've still got a lot things to work on to make us a better team, but I'm definitely happy with the performance."
Senior Kyle Gaston keyed the strong Bison start with seven points in the opening minutes, including a 3-pointer from the left corner to give McCook a 12-0 cushion.
Chase County's Steven Fish finally got his team on the board with a basket in the lane with just over five minutes left in the first half. On McCook's next possession, Cody Wudtke knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing to put the Bison ahead 16-2.
Wudtke, a 6-2 junior, hit two more baskets later in the first quarter to help boost McCook to a 27-10 lead at the end of the period. Wudtke scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in the opening eight minutes.
Bison floor leader
Coach Garcia has plenty of weapons to draw on, and the Bison may go 10 players deep or more in the varsity rotation as the season rolls on. But Wudtke could be considered Garcia's top all-around talent.
"Cody's our floor leader as far as the all-around player," Garcia said. "He knows that his role on this offense is to break down the defense. If he gets the shot while breaking down the defense, that's great. If not, what he really has an uncanny ability to do is create shots for other players.
"That's something we've been talking about -- do something to make your teammate better, do something to put your teammate in a position to be successful, and that's one thing that Coidy does extremely well. His confidence, you can see it every day -- it's just increasing every day."
The Bison stretched the lead to 40-16 at intermission, with junior Sean Backer and senior Matt Chitwood each hitting big 3-point shots.
Coach Garcia has something he hasn't had in a few years -- two capable big bodies in the middle in senior Tate Stang and junior Matt Collicott. His 6-foot-4 twin towers each had strong games.
Collicott, who competed on the Bison swimming team last winter, scored all of his 14 points in the second half. Stang added eight points plus 10 rebounds to share team-high board honors with Wudtke. Collicott also had 6 rebounds.
McCook outscored Chase County 12-6 in the third period to lead 54-22, then the Bison closed the deal with a 22-point output in the final eight minutes.
Longhorns open with win Dec. 1
Chase County, competing in Class C-1 this season, opened the season last Thursday night with a 47-37 win at Cozad. Head coach Carl Zuege said Friday's opponent was much tougher.
"We didn't get beat by a rag-tag bunch tonight," Zuege said. "We got thumped by an excellent basketball team. They're a Class B team that's going to win 15 or more games. We got 'out-athleticed' at most positions.
"Probably one thing we are most disappointed in is, we missed out on an opportunity to compete. We didn't compete very well, and that's on me about getting prepared. I think the speed of the game, the speed of the opponent, was a little greater than what we were ready for. We've got to really work on that."
Balanced McCook attack
The Bison enjoyed a balanced scoring attack. Eight of the 12 McCook players Garcia put in the varsity game got in the scoring column. Seven Bison scored at least seven points.
The McCook defense did a good job limiting Chase County senior Adam Dickey, a 6-4 center, who led the Longhorns with just eight points. Adam Moline added seven points for the Imperial squad.
Coach Garcia sees individual improvement from many of his varsity players since the end of last season.
"The improvement you're seeing on the perimeter, those guys are getting a little more physical maturity," he said. "They put in a lot of time this summer working, and their skill level is definitely increased. With all of that work you're talking confidence, and that's really the biggest thing -- they're become a lot more confident in their abilities, and they're becoming more familiar with what we're doing, which is helping to increase their confidence as well."
Garcia had praise for all his varsity performers, and he said the squad members are accepting their roles and performing well in the early weeks of the season.
"Going up and down the roster, the kids are playing, very, very well," Garcia said. "They're really starting to come together. I'm very happy with the way the team is coming together."
Upcoming games
McCook, 1-0, will compete in the annual Topside Tip-off Tournament next weekend in Goodland, Kan. The Bison will face Wray, Colo., in first-round action Thursday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. in the Goodland Junior High gym.
Chase County, 1-1, will face two more tough tests next weekend with games against Sidney and Ogallala. Coach Zuege said his team, with few veterans back from last season, will battle back from Friday's loss.
"Like our leadership, we're a team that's going to continually get better," Zuege said. "Tonight we got overwhelmed a little bit. I didn't think we stepped up to the challenge like we needed to. That's a lot of my fault, and we've got to do a better job."