The Cordell Blue Devils wrapped up a tough week at the Burns Flat-Dill City Tournament. Despite hard play, Cordell’s boys were eliminated after losses to Lookeba-Sickles and Thomas.
The Blue Devils opened their tournament appearance with a game against Lookeba-Sickles on Thursday. The boys were competitive in the first quarter, but went a bit flat during the middle portion of the game, leaving them in a deficit from which they couldn’t recover. The Blue Devils took the first round loss 67-42.
“The game got away from us from a little stretch at the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third,” said head coach Brandon Gallagher. “We kind of went stale offensively and were have problems getting stops. We just have to keep working and trust that things will get better for us.”
Brady Reimer led the Blue Devils on the scoreboard, scoring 16. He also posted three rebounds, one assist, one deflection, and two steals. Gaige Keister added 11 points, 11 rebounds, one assist, three deflections, and a steal.
Friday’s action in the consolation bracket saw the Blue Devils tip off against Thomas, and it seemed like Cordell’s boys were in for rough time. Thomas came out firing and Cordell’s shots would just not fall. At the end of the first quarter the Blue Devils found themselves in a 17-3 hole.
But quit isn’t in the Blue Devil vocabulary. Led by Gaige Keister, Cordell’s boys went on a tear in the second period, outscoring Thomas 24-14 and closing the Thomas lead to just four at the half.
During the second half the teams went back and forth, with the Blue Devils getting themselves within striking distance just to see Thomas pull out front again. In the end, Thomas held on to their lead and took the 57-48 win, eliminating the Blue Devils from the tournament.
“We really struggled shooting the ball,” Gallagher said. “We were four or 14 from both blocks. I thought we kept playing hard. We made several runs but could never get over the hump. Gaige Keister went through a stretch where he was awesome on offense. We just have to keep working and keep battling. It’s easy to be positive when things are going well but the key is how you handle adversity. I think we have some great kids that are going to keep working until we get things going again. There are still a lot of games to be played.”