NORTH PLATTE—The Gothenburg boys fought back time and time again against North Platte St. Pat’s Thursday night.

The Swedes erased a nine-point deficit more than once throughout the first half and even into the third quarter.

But when the game was on the line in the fourth period, the Irish tightened their defense and Swede shooting went cold as St. Pat’s defeated Gothenburg 66-47.

“We kept getting behind but the kids worked hard and battled back over and over,” said Gothenburg coach Roger Koehler.

Several times throughout the first half, Koehler said St. Pat’s managed sizeable runs to take what appeared to be a game-clinching lead.

Then the Swedes would claw their way back into the game.

“We hustled and we had decent shot selection. We just gave them too many second chances,” Koehler said.

The Swedes gave up 20 rebounds in the first half and were out-rebounded overall 31-19.

“I think that’s the biggest reason we got behind,” Koehler said.

Gothenburg trailed 17-12 after the first period and was down 31-23 at halftime.

Momentum in the third quarter helped Gothenburg out-score the Irish 20-16 to pull within four points at 47-43 heading into the fourth.

“We felt like we were on a roll,” Koehler said. “And then we

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