N/V Boys, Bloomfield Girls Take First In Holiday Tournament

The finals of the Verdigre Holiday Tournament featured two exciting showdowns, including a bit of extra basketball.

In the girls final, Bloomfield and Niobrara/Verdigre went head-to-head in an all-Knox County showdown. The Bees reached the final after a first-round victory over Osmond while the Cougars took down Allen to set up the final. The Cougars hoped to pull off the upset of the two-loss Bloomfield squad, but it wasn't meant to be as Bloomfield took the game 45-38. 

Individual stats for the teams were unavailable at this time.

The boys needed an extra frame of play to decide the champion between Niobrara/Verdigre and Osmond. The Cougars trailed 37-25 entering the fourth quarter but a 21-9 rally in the quarter pushed the game to overtime. In the extra frame, Niobara/Verdigre managed an 8-6 advantage to win the game 54-52 and take home top honors at their own tournament.

Ricky Bickerstaff led all scorers with 22 points on the night, connecting on 50 percent of his shots. Christian Swalley added 12 while Brady Pike added 11 for the Cougars. Cauy Drobny was his usual impressive self under the rim, pulling in 12 rebounds, including four offensively.