LEXINGTON – The Lexington/McCook rivalry reaches out to more than just football during the fall season. It was felt in full force Friday night as the Bison squared off with Lexington in a shootout on the hardwood.

 The Minutemaids took it to McCook from the beginning, and flexed a little defensive muscle in the process, as Lexington embarrassed the Lady Bison 66-24.

 The Lady Bison came out swinging at the tip-off, scoring the first basket of the game, letting Lexington know they were not intimidated by the their No. 8 ranking. However, Lexington was not intimidated by McCook’s early spunk, starting a scoring barrage that could only be described as amazing.

 The Minutemaids led 23-7 after one quarter of play and shut down the Bison to just a single point in the second quarter, taking a 44-8 lead into the locker room.

 As both teams came out for the second half, Lexington made it a little easier on McCook, outscoring the Bison 11-9 in the third, with much of the junior varsity getting quality game experience in the second half. The Minutemaids outscored McCook 11-7 in the final quarter to finally put the blow out win to rest.

 Junior Hailey Mandelko led the charge for the Minutemaids, pouring in for 23 points. Junior Sydney Seberger was a key contributor, putting in 10 points. Eight different Lex players scored points on the night, as Lex showed why they are a force to be reckoned with in Class B.

 “I was real pleased with the effort from the girls,” Head coach Randy Carpenter said. “ They were intense from the start and they made the presses work and played good team basketball.”

 For McCook, they were led by Morgan Chitwood, scoring nine points.

 With the win, the Maids improve to 11-3 on the season, while McCook still looks for the first win, dropping to 0-20 on the year.

 The Lex boys were looking to seal a win against their heated rival, but also looked for that quality win as the Bison came in ranked ninth in Class B according to the Omaha-World Herald.

 The boys’ played hard, physical basketball the entire night, as Lexington pulled off the upset win, defeating the Bison 42-36.

 Lexington and McCook exchanged a few shots, before McCook grabbed a small three-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Lexington stormed back, took the lead before halftime, leading 22-19.

 The Minutemen stayed even with the Bison in the third quarter, keeping their lead and hopes of a big upset going into the final quarter. Lexington extended their lead out to six points early in the fourth quarter, but after a couple turnovers, which led to two Bison baskets, the Minutemen’s lead was down to two.

 The Minutemen forced McCook to foul, which put Lexington at the line late, where the Minutemen sank crucial free throws down the stretch, as the Minutemen sealed the big victory, winning by six.

 The Minutemen were led by senior R.J. Seberger, who led with a game-high 18 points. Seberger also grabbed six rebounds. Senior Aaron Luther also was clutch toward the end of the game, sinking four big free throws and scoring 10 points total for the Minutemen.

 Senior Hawken Albus struggled under the basket, scoring two points, but did nab a game-high eight rebounds.

 “We’re definitely not satisfied,” Head coach Eric Young said. “It was kind of a good vibe to have. The kids know that there is more out there for them. We are now into February so we should be playing our best ball.”

 The Minutemen rebounded nicely from their loss to Adams Central, improving to 8-6 on the season. McCook, who fell out of the rankings with the loss, drops to 12-6.

 Lexington traveled to Grand Island to take on Northwest in a key district match-up, also a rematch from earlier in the season, on Dec. 19. The Minutemaids defeated the Lady Vikings 61-45, while the boys suffered a one-point defeat 42-41.

 “We’ve already watched some film on their last game and we feel like we’re playing a little bit better,” Young said. “Now we got Tyler McKeone back that we didn’t have last time, so it’s time to get after them.”

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