Canistota beats Fighting Cougars

The Canistota Hawks, rated third in Class B, held McCook Central/Montrose to 11 first-half points and 21 percent shooting to win 59-37 at the Dakota Wesleyan University Classic Saturday at the Corn Palace.

“We got off to a good start and I told the kids that was important,” Canistota coach Pat Jolley said. “We played Thursday and Friday night, so I was impressed how we got after it and we played with a lot of intensity and a lot of energy,”

To say that the Hawks got off to a quick start is an understatement. Canistota opened the contest outscoring the Fighting Cougars 15-2 over the first six minutes and led 15-4 at the end of the quarter.

Things only got worse for MC/M in the second quarter with Canistota pulling away to a 30-8 lead with just over a minute left until halftime. A three-point shot from the Cougars’ Brandon Reif got MCM to within 30-11 at halftime.

“I think we were intimidated,” Cougars coach Bill Marquardt said of his team’s first-half play. “They’re so athletic and play strong and quick. They were more intense then we were.”

Slowly, MCM started a comeback to open the third quarter, going on an 8-4 run and getting to within 34-19.

Led by Jason Van Winkle, the Hawks pulled away again and took a 41-26 lead going into the final quarter.

The Cougars fought back and got as close as 13 at 49-36 with 4:40 left to play, but Canistota closed out the game, allowing MCM to score only one point the rest of the way.

“I think the first half took something out of them,” Jolley said. “They did a good job in the second half getting to the rim and then getting to the free-throw line. But I was really happy with our defensive effort.”

Van Winkle led the Hawks with 20 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Cody Bunger with 14 points and Alex Robertson with 10 assists.

Canistota (16-1) was 25-of-48 for 52 percent from the field and 8-of-12 for 67 percent from the free-throw line. The Hawks had 29 rebounds and committed nine turnovers.

The Cougars were led by Reif with 18 points and Jacob Heumiller with four assists.

MCM (11-5) was 13-of-42 for 31 percent from the floor and 9-of-18 for 50 percent from the free-throw line. The Cougars had 29 rebounds and 15 turnovers.

MCM entertains Tri-Valley Tuesday and Canistota will be at Howard tonight.

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