LEXINGTON – The Lexington basketball teams really needed a solid victory in their home finale Saturday against North Platte.
The girls found themselves in a rematch from the GNAC semi-finals, when the Maids upset the Lady Bulldogs 53-50.
Since then both teams got their fair share of experience playing against some of the top teams in the state. So the rematch was bound to be more exciting. It didn’t disappoint.
The Maids rallied from behind in the second half as the eighth-ranked Maids defeated the Class A No. 4 Bulldogs 50-44.
The game had all the makings of a great one as both teams were knotted up at eight after the first quarter. Junior Hailey Mandelko contributed to nine of the Maids’ 15 points in the second quarter to give Lexington a 23-21 lead at the break.
North Platte however didn’t back down, as they shut Lexington down to just six points in the third to grab a two point lead at 31-29 going into the final quarter.
Lexington trailed as much as six before the Maids rallied the troops to outscore the Bulldogs 21-13 in the final quarter to grab the big victory.
“What a great team effort,” head coach Randy Carpenter said. “The girls really sucked it up when we got down six in the second half and responded by stepping up defensively. This gives us a lot of momentum heading into district week.”
The Maids shot 30 percent from the field for the night, including a dismal 1 of 9 from the three point line.
However, the Maids found their stroke at the free throw line, going a perfect 19 for 19 for the first time this season.
For the most part, Lexington played a mistake-free game, only giving up 10 turnovers, while the Minutemaid defense forced the Bulldogs to cough up the ball 19 times. North Platte out-rebounded the Maids 26-22, but given the heighth that the Maids have, the rebounding game has been kind to Lexington this season.
Mandelko led all scorers on the evening, pouring a game-high 22 points. Senior Bridget Seberger complemented Mandelko, scoring 10 points.
Three North Platte players scored in double figures, as Kacee Higgins scored a team-high 13 points, Abby Hunt with 10 points and Tenisha Matlock with 10 points.
Lexington finishes the regular season at 16-5 overall, as they await the winner of the Hastings-McCook match-up in the B-5 district tournament taking place in Kearney. North Platte drops overall to 16-4. The Maids moved up to No. 7 in the current Omaha World-Herald ratings, while North Platte fell to No. 8.
The Maids look to advance to their first state tournament appearance since 2001.
The Minutemen were looking for the same quality win as the ladies, but it wasn’t to be for Lexington, as poor shooting doomed the Minutemen in a 51-31 loss to North Platte.
North Platte used an early 9-5 run to end the first quarter that put them in the lead for good. Lexington managed to score in double figures once all game, during the fourth quarter.
North Platte held a 23-15 advantage at halftime, but outscored Lexington 28-16 in the second half to cruise for the victory.
Lexington managed to shoot only 27 percent from the field all game long and went only 4 of 10 from the free throw line.
Both teams did a good job of not turning the ball over throughout the game, as Lexington turned the ball of a total of 10 times all game long, while North Platte turned it over 12 times.
The Bulldogs won the rebounding game over the Minutemen 28-21.
Senior R.J. Seberger led the Minutemen Friday night with 12 points and nine rebounds in his final home game in a Lexington uniform.
Junior Aaron Luther scored six points for Lexington, while Tyler Tingelhoff, making his debut after sitting out all season long with a knee injury, scored three points.
For the Bulldogs, they were led by Trey Moore, who played a stellar game, cashing in for 19 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Trevor Schramm also contributed nicely for North Platte, pouring in 13 points in the win.
“It was just disappointing,” head coach Eric Young said. “I thought we came out flat and we didn’t execute.”
The loss drops Lexington below .500 once again on the year, dropping their third straight game to fall to 10-11 overall. North Platte moves to 8-13 on the year, with all eight victories coming over Class B schools.
The Minutemen will enter the district tournament with the   third seed,  as they will open their B-5 district tournament play against Hastings.
The Minutemen are looking to make their first trip to the state tournament since 2002.
“I told them it’s on their shoulders,” Young said.” It’s do or die, win or go home. This is what it all comes down to.”
The Minutemaids will play their first district game on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m.

• Lexington Boys Basketball
• Lexington Girls Basketball
• Lexington Minutemen

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