County Wars Tournament Winners

by SJ Reporter | December 17, 2020

In the first round of County Wars,  Bulldogs were led in scoring by Kyler Keller with 18 points.  Plunkett had 17 points, Mitchell added 7, Leyva 6, Diaz 4, Gould 2.

Syracuse 54 – Keller 5 8-10 10, Plunkett 5 4-4 10, Mitchell 3 1-1 6, Leyva 3 0-0 6,

Diaz 2 0-0 4, Gould 1 0-0 2.

Syracuse         12   18   10   14 - 54

Greeley County   11     7     9    14 - 41

3- point Goals- Plunkett 1 

Led by Kyler Keller’s 22 points, the Syracuse Bulldogs got a victory over Stanton County in the second round of the County Wars Tournament.  Also scoring in double figures was Joe Mitchell with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 8 steals and  Austin Plunkett added 10 points, 6 rebounds, and had 3 charges drawn.

 Keller hit a buzzer beater to tie the game in regulation.  The teams only scored two points a piece in  the first OT.  The game was tied at 50, heading into the second OT.  Keller started out the second OT hitting a 3 pointer, followed by a layup from Mitchell making the score 55-50.  Hugo Leyva scored a bucket and Plunkett ended with a pair of free throws, leaving Stanton County scoreless in the second OT.  Final score 59-50.  It was a great win for the Bulldogs. 

“Stanton County was a rollercoaster of a game,” said Coach Jordan Wahlmeier, “We dominated the entire first half, but credit to the Stanton County boys for battling and never giving up. Stanton County controlled the glass and took the Bulldogs out of transition.  We struggled scoring the ball in the second half but found ways to get stops towards the end of the game,” he said. “The overtimes were wild, both teams were completely gassed, but our boys found a way to dig deep and string some huge stops together and knock down some big shots.”

Syracuse – (59) – Keller 4 2-3 8, Mitchell 4 2-2 8, Plunkett 4 2-3 8, Leyva 3 1-3 6, Brummett 1 0-0 2, Diaz 1 0-0 2.

Syracuse   15   15   8   10    2 OT  2nd OT 9- 59 

Stanton County    7     9   14   18 2OT- 50

3 Point goals – Keller 4, Mitchell 1, Brummett 1

The Syracuse Bulldogs earned their third win in the County Wars tournament against the Elkhart Wildcats.  Joe Mitchell led the team with 22 points, 4 rebounds.  Kyler Keller added 19 points, 5 rebounds and Austin Plunkett with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 1 charge drawn.  Hugo Leyva and Jay Gould had 6 points.  Uriel Diaz and Roy Aguilar each added 2.   

      The Bulldogs started out with the first points of the game and they kept the lead for the entire game.  The entire Bulldog Varsity got playing time Sat night.  What a great way to end the County War Tournament.  Final score 72-45.

Syracuse (72) – Mitchell 7 5-7 14, Keller 3 4-7 6, Plunkett 4 4-6 8, Leyva 3 0-0 6,

Gould 1 4-6 2, Aguilar 0 2-2 0, Diaz 1 0-0 2

Syracuse   17   18   18   19 – 72

Elkhart        6    14    9    16 - 45

Team totals 32 rebounds, 11 Steals, 10 Assists

3 point goals – Keller 3, Mitchell 1, Plunkett 1

While the Bulldogs are off to a good start with a 4-0 record, Wahlmeier feels there is still a long way to go.  “We are on the right track, but there is work to be done, and we have not accomplished our goals yet.”

All County Team:

 SHS Lady Bulldog #14 - Kate Riley, and three Bulldogs -  #3 Joe Mitchell, 

#5 -Austin Plunkett and 

#11 Kyler Keller.