Comeback Falls Short As Gothenburg Downs GICC Boys, 36-35

(Grand Island, NE) - The Grand Island Central Catholic boys fell for just the fourth time this season on Thursday night, 36-35, to the Gothenburg Swedes. 

The Crusaders would fall into a 7-0 hole right away and wouldn't score their first points until the 3:51 mark of the 1st quarter. The Saders would then be down 16-4 at the end of the first. Both teams would scratch across 10 points in the 2nd quarter, giving Gothenburg a 26-14 lead. 

In the second half, GICC would start to mount a comeback. The Crusaders forced five third-quarter turnovers that would spark a 9-0 run to only trail 26-23 with 2:36 left in the 3rd. GICC would end the quarter on a 14-6 run and down 32-28 going into the final 8 minutes. 

Two Connor Haney free throws would cut the deficit to 32-30 with 6:49 left. The Crusaders would get their only lead of the night on a Jack Alberts three-pointer with 4:00 minutes remaining, 33-32. Two free throws would follow for Gothenburg, along with a 2-point floater by Axel Jorgenson for the Swedes, giving Gothenburg a 36-33 lead.

The final points from GICC would come on a foul and a made bucket by Brandon Cloud with 1:53 left in the game, making it a one-point contest, 36-35. The free throw would come up short, but wouldn't be the last chance for the Crusaders. GICC would get a defensive stop with 18 seconds left, setting up one last possession to try tie or win the game. As time was winding down, a GICC pass inside the paint would pop in the air and be grabbed by the Swedes with only six-tenths of a second left that would seal the game for Gothenburg. 

Gothenburg is now 15-4 and snapped a two-game skid after losing to Cozad and McCook in the Southwest Conference tournament last week. The Swedes will be back in action on Feb. 7th vs Minden. GICC is now 16-4 and has lost two in a row after falling this past Saturday in the Centennial Conference tournament championship to Bergan Catholic, 56-41. GICC will be back in action on Feb. 7th, hosting Holdrege. 

Gothenburg -     16  10  6   4  - 36 
Central Catholic - 4  10  14  7 - 35 

Swede Scoring: Kingston Koehn 2 - Evan Johnson 2 - Landon Mroczek 7 - Kash Koehn 3 - Boone Tederman 10 - Axel Jorgenson 6 - Braden Ehlers 6 

Crusader Scoring: Braylon Wolfe 3 - Jack Alberts 3 - Thomas Birch 5 - Henry Schrad 2 - Connor Hanney 11 - Brandon Cloud 11 

Girls Game/Final Score: Gothenburg 70, Central Catholic 37 
Crusader Leaders: Elle Tibbetts 14 - Eva Tibbetts 7