As Wisner-Pilger's discontent with the referees grew, the Arlington boys basketball team just kept making baskets and building its lead Thursday night.
The Eagles held a 21-12 advantage after one period, led by 15 points at halftime and outscored the Gators 27-8 during the third quarter. In they end, coach Jake Polk's squad improved to 5-3 with a 70-36 home victory.
“Once I hit that first 3, that's how I knew it was going to be a good night,” AHS sophomore Jaxson Burns said.
Kieryn Grothe, Oliver Ladehoff and he all made first-quarter 3-pointers as the Eagles turned a 6-5 deficit into an 11-point advantage all within the first 8 minutes.
Burns kept making shots from beyond the arc as Gator fans in the crowd raised their voices for the refs to hear and the Wisner bench picked up a third-period technical foul. The sophomore ultimately finished with four made 3s and 20 points overall.
“In transition, they would lose me,” he said. “They would lose our shooters, and it was just easier for us to just get the shot off. We didn't have to rush. We didn't have to overthink it.”
Ladehoff — who scored 17 points — finished with two made 3-pointers, too, while 6-foot-6 junior Trent Koger scored a game-high 21 points. The latter Eagle made eight field goals and five free throws.
The victory came in Arlington's final game before the holiday break. Burns assessed the Eagles' start, which included wins against Columbus Lakeview, Yutan, Omaha Brownell-Talbot, Tekamah-Herman and the Gators.
“We're feeling good,” he said. “The things we need to do are just the same things. We need to keep defense good because defense leads to offense.”
AHS next competes 6 p.m. Friday during the Lincoln Lutheran Holiday Tournament. The Eagles' first-round opponent is the host Warriors.
AHS BOYS HOOPS LINE SCORE
Thursday
Arlington 70, Wisner-Pilger 36
W-P (0-7) 12 6 8 10 — 36
AHS (5-3) 21 12 27 10 — 70
Scoring: AHS — Trent Koger 21, Jaxson Burns 20, Oliver Ladehoff 17, Kieryn Grothe 6, Luke Sharp 3, Dallin Franzluebbers 2, Killian McIntosh 1.
W-P — Jaxon Knoell 20, Brandon Stoffel 6, Jase Alexander 5, Carter Cleveland 2, Kevin John Jr. 2, Regan Raabe 1.
