SIDNEY—Gothenburg’s boys played one of their most complete games of the season in the consolation finals of the Cabela’s Holiday Shootout in Sidney Dec. 30.

Coach Roger Koehler was pleased with an effort to eliminate a persistent lull his Swedes have suffered nearly every game so far.

It wasn’t until the final minutes of the fifth-place matchup against Chase County—the third game in three days—that the Swedes began to wear down.

The Longhorns took advantage of a handful of free throws at the end of the game to get a 52-48 win over Gothenburg.

“We had some decent looks at the end of the game but we just couldn’t get them to fall,” Koehler said.

Gothenburg matched up well with Chase County, the coach said, making for a balanced game between even opponents.

Swede junior Blake Ristine was leading scorer with 11 points and senior postplayer Logan Koehler added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Swedes will host Chase County on Friday with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.

In the consolation semi-finals of the tournament, Gothenburg handled Love Christian Fellowship of Denver with a 62-48 victory.

Koehler said Love Christian was an undisciplined but athletic team and that made players difficult to defend.

But the Swedes used the one-two punch of their big men and unselfish passing to build a 37-19 halftime lead.

Love Christian hit a couple of long-range three-pointers in the fourth period and connected on a few out-of-control drives to close the gap but the Swedes held strong for the win.

Logan Koehler had 24 points to lead the Swedes with Tanner Borchardt chipping in 18.