Josh Rowan
C-H sports writer
LEXINGTON – The Lexington basketball teams stared at a tall order this weekend, facing off with two skill-filled opponents before the East-West Shootout this weekend.
Lexington began their weekend Friday, as Grand Island Central Catholic came to town.
The Minutemaids were roughed around by a very physical Crusaders squad, but in the end, the Maids used their speed and finesse to defeat GICC 42-22.
The Maids started out like it was going to be a cake-walk from the beginning, starting the first quarter with a 13-2 run. The Crusaders clawed their way back, cutting the lead the eight by halftime, with the Maids leading 17-9.  The second half, the Maids put the game away for good, going on another huge run, this time a 14-2 run, to  extend their lead to 31-11 after three quarters.  The Maids “D” held the Crusaders under 20 points for most of the fourth quarter, but the fourth quarter was pretty even, as the Maids closed out a nice double-digit victory.
“The girls played outstanding defense all game long,” head coach Randy Carpenter said. “ We really struggled on offense with our shooting, but we held them at bay with constant pressure. Not the prettiest win, but a good one nonetheless.”
The Maids shot 14 of 40 (35 percent) from the field, while going blank from long range, shooting 0 for 8. Both teams went to the free throw line a lot during the game, with Lexington shooting 14 of 23 (61 percent) and GICC shooting 11 of 23 (48 percent).
GICC crushed the Maids on the boards, winning the rebounding game 39-26.
For Lexington, they were led by junior Hailey Mandelko, cashing in for 15 points. Freshman Casey Seberger chipped in for seven points, while senior Bridget Seberger scored six points.
The win brought the Maids back on the winning side, improving to 12-4 overall. The Crusaders fell to 10-8.
The Lexington-GICC boys game was the contest that no one expected to be close. The Crusaders came in to the contest ranked third in Class C-1, with an impressive record of 15-1.
The Minutemen weren’t intimidated by the ranking, as Lexington came out swinging early, keeping a decent lead for most of the contest. GICC managed to chip away at the lead, then sinking a basket at the buzzer to spoil the upset, defeating Lexington 36-34.
The Minutemen came out firing on all cylinders, taking an early 12-7 lead after the first quarter. The Minutemen defense kept on the pressure, forcing GICC to take bad shots and capitalizing on taking time off the clock, as Lexington took a six-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
The second half proved much more exciting, as the Minutemen extended their lead over the third-ranked Crusader to double-digits at midway through the quarter.  The Crusaders sank some crucial baskets before the end of the period, as the Minutemen were smelling upset going into the final quarter, leading 29-20.
The Crusaders forced key turnovers, as GICC’s Casey Wiens took over in the fourth quarter, hitting two clutch three pointers, to close the gap. The Crusaders took the lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Minutemen tied it all up with under two minutes remaining at 32. With about a minute and a half left in the game, the Crusaders worked down the clock for a final shot. GICC finally called a timeout with about six seconds remaining. GICC passed the ball in and found Wiens open on the elbow. Wiens lofted up a prayer as time wound down, finding the bottom of the net. Lexington was unable to get a shot off in time, as GICC escaped defeat.
“Defensively we played one of our better games,” head coach Eric Young said. “In the end they executed better toward the end of the game and we couldn’t close the deal.”
Lexington was led by junior Aaron Luther, scoring nine points. Tyler McKeone contributed nicely for the Minutemen, scoring seven points and grabbing eight rebounds. Senior R.J. Seberger had a rough night shooting, scoring only four points, but was able to grab a game-high nine rebounds. Senior Hawken Albus also had nine rebounds for Lexington.
The Crusaders were led by Wiens, scoring a game-high 19 points.
The loss dropped Lexington to 9-7 on the season, while GICC improved to 16-1 overall.
The boys and girls were on the road on Saturday, traveling to Aurora.
The girls improved greatly from the night before, hitting eight three-pointers in a 51-30 win over the Huskies.
The game remained fairly close throughout the first half, as Lexington led by only four points at the half, at 21-17. The Maids, being a second half team for most of the season, poured it on in the third quarter, outscoring the Huskies 18-9 in the third and 12-4 in the fourth to pull away for the victory.
The Maids were led by senior Renee Otero, scoring 13 points, including four three-pointers. Mandelko was relatively quiet for the game, scoring nine points. Bridget Seberger had another solid game, scoring eight points.
The Maids improved to 13-4 on the year, while Aurora fell to 5-11 overall.
“It was a nice weekend for us,” Carpenter said. “We must practice well next week to prepare for the western teams.”
The boys’ look to rebound after their heart-breaking loss the night before, but the Huskies would have none of it, blowing out the Minutemen 61-36.
The Huskies took the lead early in the game and never let go of it, leading 21-11 after the first quarter. The Minutemen’s shooting was ice cold for most of the game, as Aurora outscored the Minutemen all four quarters.
Lexington shot 13 of 54 (24 percent) from the field, while shooting 3 of 12 (33 percent) from the three-point line. Aurora put on a clinic shooting the ball, shooting 7 of 13 (54 percent) from the three point line.
Aurora forced 20 Minutemen as the Huskies improved to 10-7 on the year. Lexington falls to 9-8 overall.
The Minutemen are on the road for the East-West Shootout, while the Maids are at home. The teams start by playing Scottsbluff on Thursday, Feb. 11.

• Lexington Basketball
• Lexington Boys Basketball
• Lexington Girls Basketball
• Lexington Minutemen

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