THE CORNER, HIGHWAY 81 AND 66 — Cross County boys basketball coach Dan Conway has seen steady progress in his program the last few years.
And now, with some upper classmen who have taken a few lumps, the Cougars find themselves ranked eighth in Class C-2 (Omaha World-Herald) after an 8-1 start. The Cougars ended last season 14-10 after going 7-16 and 4-19 the previous two seasons.
“We are pretty happy with how things have gone so far,” Conway said Tuesday morning. “The kids have really bought into our scouting reports and have played well together defensively.”
One of Conway’s favorite attributes of his three junior, two senior lineup is that he has three players – Matt Relihan, Kenny Wright and Lane Gottula – who have all started and played point guard in their careers. Now that they all play together, roles have been more easily defined.
Relihan is a lefty and ‘true point guard’ Conway said, who gets most of the minutes there. Wright is third in the state with 30 3-point baskets through nine games. Between them, they average 32 points per contest.
“Our guards all do a great job,” Conway said. “They have all started off and on since they have been freshman and so they have played together a bunch. With Aaron Giannou off the bench, too, he almost gets starter minutes as well.”
Inside, the Cougars counter with 6-2 Trey Neinhueser and 6-8 Brady Langemeier. Langemeier averages just under 10 points and leads the team with 6.9 rebounds and two blocks per contest.
“Having a guy like Brady changes how you defend a little bit,” Conway said. “He protects the basket for us.”
Nienhueser is a “guy who can play in the post with his back to the basket or drive from the wing,” Conway said. He scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Cougars won the Sandy Creek Holiday Tournament that included a 52-47 win over Class C-1, No. 8 Milford in the semifinals.
The Cougars lone loss came to Class D-1, No. 1 BDS on December 18th. The next month features more of the same for Cross County.
Tonight’s game against Class D-1, No. 6 Osceola – who has won seven straight – begins a stretch that includes games with Heartland, Twin River and Giltner before the Crossroads Conference tournament looms the last week of the month.
“We know Osceola is a heck of a team,” Conway said. “They will be a tough out tonight. We should know more about ourselves in the next month. Our conference tournament at the end of January will be good for us well.
“It’s a great atmosphere in York and has a little bit of a ‘Hoosiers’ feel to it.”
Let’s Rewind
Rankings: OWH boys | OWH girls | LJS girls
Millard West girls still tops after winning Metro
Friend girls pull away to win NWU Holiday Tournament
Top-ranked Gretna boys pull away from Aurora for tourney title
