The Sutton Mustangs 2023-24 basketball season was a tale of two season as the Mustangs finished the month of December with a 3-5 record, before winning seven of their next nine games to head into the Southern Nebraska Conference tournament with a 9-7 record, including a six-game winning streak, beating Ravenna, Fairbury, Thayer Central, Milford, and Sandy Creek, and taking down David City in the opening round of the SNC tournament.
Following their 55-51 first round win over the Scouts, Sandy Creek gained revenge on the Mustangs with a 32-24 semifinal win, after Sutton upended the Cougars 38-30 a week earlier.
The loss to Sandy Creek sent the Mustangs to the consolation game with Fillmore Central, with the Panthers claiming a narrow 46-41 win, placing Sutton fourth in the SNC tournament.
Sutton then won two of their final three regular season games with wins over Wilber- Clatonia and Superior, while the Panthers again set the Mustangs back.
Sutton stood at 12-10 on the year gaining them the top seed in the D1-3 Sub-District tournament, where the Mustangs claimed big wins over Blue Hill (61-28) and over Kenesaw (59-39) to advance to the D1-7 District Final, where the Tigers of Dundy County/Stratton brought Sutton’s season to an end with a 46-33 win, closing out Sutton’s season at 14-11.
SEASON LEADERS
Junior Aidan Jones paced the Mustangs scoring attack with 241 total points, an average of 9.6 points per game, while senior Cole Baumert followed closely, scoring 220 points, an average of 8.8 points per game.
Junior Harrison Herndon also eclipsed the 200 point mark with 209, an average of 8.4 points per game.
Sophomore’s Payton Reed and Keith Kliewer had 172, and 188 points, respectively, while junior Weston Ohrt added 109 points on the season.
Reed and Ohrt combined for 214 rebounds this season, with Reed leading Sutton with 115, while Ohrt hauled in 109. Jones ripped down 95 boards, with Baumert gaining 71.
Baumert and Jones led the team in assists, with Baumert having a team-high 59, and Jones, 52.
Herndon led Sutton with 32 steals, while Baumert had 28, and Ohrt, 20.
Scoring:....................... Gms 2pt FG 3pt FG FT Pts Pt. Avg Reb Asst Stl Aidan Jones.......................... 25 40-94 40-133 41-70 241 9.6 95 52 18 Cole Baumert....................... 25 60-128 18-63 46-71 220 8.8 71 56 28 Harrison Herndon................. 25 30-67 43-152 20-33 209 8.4 67 40 32 Payton Reed......................... 24 34-82 26-67 26-41 172 7.2 115 19 13 Keith Kliewer........................ 25 24-61 16-44 36-61 118 4.7 36 24 9 Weston Ohrt......................... 25 44-111 0-3 21-46 109 4.4 109 42 20 Myles Ferguson..................... 9 1-5 1-6 1-2 6 -- 4 3 2 Carson Mau........................... 9 1-3 1-2 0-2 5 -- 3 0 0 DJ Hajny................................ 3 0-0 1-1 1-2 4 -- 1 0 0 Jadyn Friesen........................ 3 0-2 1-2 0-0 3 -- 5 0 0 David Fonseca....................... 6 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 -- 4 0 0 Rylan Reutzel........................ 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 -- 2 0 0 Sutton Totals:................ 25 235-558 147-473 178-303 1,089 43.6 513 236 122 Sutton Avg or %/Gm........ -- 42.1% 31.1% 58.7% 43.6 -- 20.5 9.4 4.9 Freeman..........................................................L 46-37 Heartland...................................................... W 44-41 McCool Junction..............................................L 57-33 BDS............................................................... W 48-45 Hastings St. Cecilia..........................................L 42-30 Nebraska Christian........................................ W 52-40 Mead Holiday Tournament Archbishop Bergan...................................L 54-41 Osceola.....................................................L 54-50 Centura......................................................... W 51-41 Cross County....................................................L 49-25 Centennial.......................................................L 42-38 Wood River...................................................Cancelled Ravenna........................................................ W 44-41 Fairbury......................................................... W 47-33 Thayer Central............................................... W 49-33 Milford.......................................................... W 39-29 Sandy Creek.................................................. W 38-30 SNC Tournament David City................................................ W 55-51 Sandy Creek...............................................L 32-24 Fillmore Central.........................................L 46-41 Wilber-Clatonia............................................. W 46-42 Fillmore Central...............................................L 53-40 Superior........................................................ W 64-33 D1-3 Sub-District Tournament Blue Hill................................................... W 61-28 Kenesaw.................................................. W 59-39 D1-7 District Final Dundy County/Stratton.............................L 46-33
