(Elk Horn) Exira-EHK won their fourth straight game and dealt CAM their first loss of the season Tuesday night in Elk Horn. The Spartans led by double figures much of the way and downed the 9th ranked Cougars 58-48.
Tyler Petersen and Creighton Nelson each pitched in 20 points. For Petersen that’s a career high and he came up with some clutch 3-point baskets. Jacob Holste was the lone CAM player in double figures with 13 points as an Exira-EHK 2-3 zone held the Cougars in check.
Things were tight for the first dozen minutes of the game. The first quarter alone saw three ties and three lead changes. CAM took a 19-16 lead early in the 2nd quarter before the well ran dry. Exira-EHK grabbed the lead at 20-19 and continued the momentum all the way into halftime with what ended up as a 12-0 stretch to lead 28-19.
CAM slimmed the gap to 30-24 early in the 3rd, but Exira-EHK called timeout and quickly built the lead back to double figures with back-to-back baskets including a Creighton Nelson three-point play. CAM’s only other hint at a run came late in the 4th when they had a 3-pointer rim out that would have closed the gap to five.
Exira-EHK did the job they needed to do at the free-throw line. The Spartans were 11/15 in the 2nd half with Petersen, Nelson, and Hunter Andersen going a combined 11/13.
Exira-EHK moves to 5-3 on the year. They’ve shown vast improvement from their 1-3 start. CAM is 7-1 overall.
