Cards Poised For Stretch Run

Despite making a move from Class C-2 up to Class C-1 this season, expectations remained high for coach Kelan Buhr and the Doniphan-Trumbull Cardinals basketball team.

After a run to the Class C-2 state tournament, the Cardinals returned all five starters as they embarked on the Class C-1 journey as the smallest school in the class by enrollment.

But, so far, so good for Buhr and his team after they survived a difficult LouPlatte Conference tournament with a championship trophy that included Saturday’s 56-53 overtime win over host Wood River.

D-T is now 16-1 heading into a big three-game week which sees them face Holdrege — a team that gave them their first loss last year — then another trip to Wood River, before the sixth-ranked Cardinals face off with Class C-1, No. 3 Omaha Concordia at Saturday’s Heartland Hoops Classic in Grand Island. Tip is at 12:45.

“I’m not sure anyone could put any bigger expectations on our team than we have for ourselves,” Buhr said. “After last year, it was something our kids and our staff recognized pretty quickly. We were excited for this group and they have done a great job so far for us this year. They have been great to coach.” 

While the record shines, the journey has been a bit bumpy for Coach Buhr and the Cardinals. Especially right before Christmas. 

“We had a few lingering injuries from football,” the coach said, “but then we had some pretty good illness go through us in mid-December.”

Doniphan-Trumbull played short-handed in their only loss to Central City on December 15, but bounced back the next day to beat Class B, No. 8 Omaha Roncalli in the Heartland Holiday Hoops Classic without Buhr on the sidelines. Then, the following Tuesday they beat Class C-2, No. 9 Sandy Creek, 57-34.

Since Christmas, the Cardinals have defeated just three teams that have winning records. But, that group includes 14-5 Gothenburg and 11-7 Centennial, which was runner-up to Sandy Creek in last week’s Southern Nebraska Conference tournament.

“I think we kind of hit a stretch here where we have won some games fairly easily, which has gotten some more players some experience,” Buhr said. “So, we have really been focused on practice and getting better each day within our team. We hope that it really starts to payoff as the games get bigger here at the end.”

The Cardinals have moved through the season with a mixture of talented underclassmen and a group of five seniors that Buhr said have been the “glue” for his team. With sophomores Jack Poppe (15.3 points) and Parker Volk (12.8) leading the team in scoring, it’s the other three senior starters who have made all the other contributions that a great team needs, Buhr said. 

“I think when you look at our seniors, they all do a little bit of everything it takes to win,” the coach said. “Kaedan Detamore does a great job of getting us into our offense and we usually need him to guard the best player from the other team.

“Jaden Williams has started since he was a freshman so, he has played in some big games for us. We haven’t needed him to score in double figures, but he can and Jake Collinson has just been super steady for us all season. He understands his role for us perfectly.”

Detamore is third on the team in scoring at 10.1 points per contest and second behind Poppe in assists (3.2/game). Williams at 8.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game leads the team in that category and Collinson is shooting just over 40 percent from 3-point range while averaging 6.2 points per game.

Junior Tycen Bennett – who started last year – comes off the bench with a 6.4 points per game average. Buhr added that fellow seniors Ben VanDiest and Owen Schultz, who play just spot minutes, have been a key factor in the Cardinals success.

“I don’t know if I ever do a good enough job of explaining to people just how important they are to our team,” Buhr said. “They are excellent practice players. They have a ‘we over me’ attitude. I think great teams have those kinds of players who make everyone else around them better.”

Make no mistake, though, D-T finds much of their success through the two sophomores, too.

“I think if the state doesn’t know who they are yet, they will soon enough,” Buhr said of Volk and Poppe. “I think with Jack, he’s really stepped up in learning how to be a leader even though he’s just a sophomore. Parker has grown a bunch physically and mentally as well. We kind of tell them that they have two years left, but they only get their sophomore year once.”

As the season has moved on, the Cardinals have learned to win in different ways. Last week, Poppe suffered a sprained ankle early in their semifinal game against Ord. He didn’t return and did not play in the final against Wood River. It may have been a blessing in disguise, Buhr said. D-T came back from down six in the final minute to force overtime.

“If you looked at the stats of that game, we probably should not have won it,” he said. “We had 12 turnovers in the first half. But, our kids just kept battling and fighting. We really persevered through a bunch of adversity that game. I thought we could have rolled over a few times and we just never did.”

Now, as win-or-go-home season nears, the Cardinals look to this big week as another stepping stone to the ultimate goal that is a trip to Lincoln at the state basketball tournament.

“We think getting to play this Saturday is pretty special,” said Buhr of the invitation to the Heartland Hoops Classic. “Tino and Erin (Martinez) do such a great job with the event and have to try and pick out deserving teams almost a year in advance. We are fortunate to be playing.

“We know Concordia will be a big challenge for us, but it is also a game we need to get ready for the games we want to play in the rest of the year.”

Heartland Hoops Classic Games Preview

This year’s Heartland Hoops Classic features six games beginning at 11:00 AM when GICC faces Elkhorn Valley. Admission for the entire day is $16 and all of the games will be streamed live on Striv Sports for a $14 fee that will give full access to all games.

11:00: Grand Island Central Catholic (8-10) vs. Elkhorn Valley (13-4). Kellyn Ollendick averages 17.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for the Falcons. The Crusaders don’t have a senior on their roster and are led in scoring by junior Thomas Liban at 12 points per game.

2:30: Crete (18-0) vs. Ogallala (20-1). Two of the state’s most powerful offenses take the stage when Crete and Ogallala clash. Ogallala has yet to score under 60 points and the Cardinals have only been held under that number twice all season, while winning their game by over 20 points per contest.

4:15: Papillion-LaVista South (11-6) vs. Kearney (12-5). Kearney, ranked ninth in Class A, gets 53 of their 68 points per game from the trio of Ben Johnson, Asher Endorf and Jacob Webber. Papio South counters with Bryson Bahl’s 21.7 points per outing.

6:00: Pembroke Hill (MO) (9-11) vs. Gretna (14-4). Two-time Missouri state champion Pembroke Hill brings a 9-11 record to Grand Island on Saturday, but have won five of their past seven games. The Dragons have won five in a row including a win over Omaha Central on Friday and are ranked fifth in Class A. Alex Wilcoxsen, Landon Pokorski and Kade Cook all average over 13 points per game.

7:45: Sunrise Christian Academy (2-9) vs. Bellevue West (16-1). The state’s top team takes on national prep school Sunrise Christian Academy in the nightcap. The Birds have South Dakota State pledge Jaden Jackson leading the way at 17.2 points per contest. Sunrise is just 2-9 this season against their national prep school schedule.

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