Cyclones use strong second half to pull away from rival Trojans for 80-60 win

ATLANTIC — The Harlan Community Cyclones boys basketball team put together one of its most complete performances of the season Friday night, using a fast start and dominant second half to earn an 80–60 victory over rival Atlantic.
HCHS opened the game with energy as Colton Schneider knocked down an early three-pointer. 
The Cyclones quickly built momentum behind baskets from Gabe Arkfeld and Dallas McDowell, with McDowell finishing a tough drive to make it 7–1 and force a Trojan timeout.
Atlantic stayed within striking distance behind trips to the free-throw line and timely shooting, but HCHS consistently answered. 
Schneider added a mid-range jumper, McDowell hit a three, and Kobe Klaassen drained a triple late in the quarter as the Cyclones took a 23–21 lead into the second.
The Trojans briefly grabbed the lead midway through the second quarter, but HCHS responded. 
Cole Koesters hit a key three to regain the advan-tage, Schneider converted both free throws in the bonus, and Arkfeld finished an and-one after Luke Ineson broke the press. 
Despite another late Atlantic three, Kreed Boggess calmly knocked down two free throws to give the Cy-clones a 37–32 halftime lead.
HCHS took control coming out of the break.
The Cyclones forced turnovers on back-to-back possessions to open the third quarter, leading to bas-kets from Arkfeld and Klaassen. 
Boggess and Jake Wageman added scoring as HCHS stretched the lead to double digits. 
Koesters delivered a momentum-swinging steal and three-pointer out of a timeout to push the ad-vantage to 50–35, the largest lead of the night to that point.
Strong defensive pressure continued to fuel the Cyclones, with Foxx Argotsinger coming up with multiple steals and finishes at the rim. 
By the end of the third quarter, HCHS had built a commanding 62–44 lead.
In the fourth, Klaassen took over offensively, scor-ing a three-point play and adding another tough bas-ket inside. 
Wageman and Ineson added points at the free-throw line, and a Klaassen three put the game out of reach. With the outcome decided, reserves saw action late, highlighted by a Cade Nelson three-pointer.
Head coach Dean Mosher said the win may have been his team’s most complete performance of the season.
“You kind of hit it right on the head,” Mosher said. “We had a lot of key contributors, and it was good to see everyone get involved and have success.”
Mosher also praised Koesters for providing a spark while some players dealt with foul trouble.“It was great to see,” Mosher said. 
“The team fed off his energy. He did it on both ends of the floor — hitting shots and being very active de-fensively — so it was good to have him out there.”
Harlan closed out the night with the 80–60 victory, continuing its strong play with a balanced offensive attack and stifling second-half defense. 
Klaassen led the Cyclones with 21 points, adding four rebounds and two steals.
The Cyclones will be back in action Tuesday night for a non-conference matchup against out-of-state foe Blair High School in Blair, Nebraska. 
Blair enters the contest 3–4 on the season.