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Last Thursday, the CCHS boys basketball team cruised to a thirty-one point victory over conference opponent Custer/Hysham. Blue went up early and had a 19-4 lead by the end of the first quarter. Strong defense and winning the rebound battle were major keys to the victory, and even with their strong play in those two facets of the game, no Bulldog player finished the game with more than 2 fouls. The Rebels had 25 tunovers on the night, compared to 21 for the Bulldogs. Preston Long was the Rebels' high scorer with 10 points. Jared Pardee led all scorers with 21.

CCHS 19 37 51 55

Cust./Hys. 4 9 15 24

CCHS: Jared Pardee 21, Mick O'Connor 19, Turner Tooke 7, Shayne Enos 4, Ryan Rychner 4

The JV Dogs played two quarters of 4 on 4 basketball versus the Rebels. The boys were down 5-11 after one quarter, but rallied to win the shortened game 20-17. Six of the boys made their way into the scoring column, led by Jaden Pardee who had 10 points.

CCHS 5 20

Cust./Hys. 11 17

CCHS: Jaden Pardee 10, David Ashbrook 3, Ethan Frye 2, Brennan Graham 2, Christian Ashbrook 2, Sean Wolenetz 1

The varsity boys played an important conference game at home against the Melstone Broncs on Saturday. Earlier this season, the Dogs lost in Melstone by 5.

Blue took an early, two-point lead after the first quarter but by halftime the game was tied. Both teams primarily played a zone defense until the fourth quarter when both played some man-to-man. The game was low-scoring, as is often the case against Melstone, and Saturday was no exception.

Long possessions limited the number of opportunities for each team as they tried to make the most of them. Melstone also had only 11 turnovers throughout the game.

Late, with CCHS down, they were forced to foul. Melstone missed a few key free throws. CCHS had erased the deficit late in the contest when an offensive foul was called against them, giving Melstone an extra possession. The Dogs had the ball with seconds remaining on the clock and a chance for a game-tying three-pointer. Senior Mick O'Connor had a good luck at the basket but the ball rattled around and eventually out instead of in. As the final second ticked off, Jared Pardee tipped in the offensive rebound, but the Bulldogs still lost by 1. O'Connor led all scorers with 19 points. Bryce Grebe had 17 for Melstone.

The loss puts CCHS two games behind Melstone in the 4C Conference standings. This Saturday, the varsity squad will play another tough conference game in Jordan against the Mustangs. The junior varsity boys and varsity girls will also be playing on Friday in Plevna.

CCHS 8 16 24 37

Melstone 6 16 28 38

CCHS: Mick O'Connor 19, Jared Pardee 9, Turner Tooke 7, Seth Kennedy 2

Three Melstone JV players finished the game with 12 points as the Broncs took a 14 point victory over the JV Bulldogs earlier in the evening. Blue played a solid second half though, keeping the deficit the same as it was at the half. Blue shot 50 percent on free throws and had 21 turnovers in the contest. Melstone had 19 turnovers and shot 65 percent from the line.

CCHS 6 10 24 32

Melstone 14 24 39 46

CCHS: Jaden Pardee 13, Brennan Graham 8, David Ashbrook 7, Ethan Frye 4

4C Boys Basketball Standings Through Jan. 25

Conference, Overall

Melstone, 9-0, 13-0

Jordan, 8-2, 9-3

CCHS, 7-2, 8-4

Broadus, 5-4, 6-6

Terry, 3-6, 5 -6

Custer-Hysham, 2-7, 3-9

Northern Cheyenne, 2-7, 2-10

Wibaux, 1-8, 1-11