DALTON, NE — The Leyton Warriors and Kimball Longhorns each took home one win during their girls/boys basketball clash Friday night. 

The girls contest was close throughout, with Kimball nailing free throws down the stretch to claim a 46-42 victory. Leyton controlled the boys game throughout, leading wire-to-wire to win 65-37. 

The Leyton Lady Warriors started off with a 13-11 lead after the first quarter as the team rolled out two freshman in its starting lineup to start the year. Kimball's entire starting lineup meanwhile consisted of seniors. 

Those seniors got into more of rhythm in quarter two, starting the frame on a 6-0 run to take a 17-13 lead. Leyton battled back behind seven points in the quarter from freshman Zaili Benish to tie things at 20 before a late three-pointer put the Warriors up 23-20 at the break. 

The teams were evenly matched in quarter three as things remained close. Each squad scored four field goals with a lone Kimball free throw the difference in the third quarter. Leyton took a 31-29 lead into the final quarter. 

It appeared Leyton would hold off Kimball, leading 39-38 with under a minute left in the game. However, a foul that put Kimball into the bonus would change things. Kimball got two free throws on a one-and-one opportunity from senior Katie Heeg to go up 40-39. A backcourt steal by senior Maddison Merryfield resulted in Heeg going back to the line and making two more shots to make it 42-39. 

Leyton failed to convert any points on its next possession. When Kimball got the ball back, Leyton began to foul to stop the clock. Merryfield and senior Payton Wise each made two more free throws to make it 46-39. Zaili Benish hit one more three-pointer, but it wasn't enough as Kimball escaped with a 46-42 win. 

Heeg led Kimball with 12 points in the win. Merryfield backed her up with 11 points. Zaili Benish led all scorers in the game with 22 points. 

Kimball (1-1) faces Minatare on Saturday for its home opener in the 2021-22 season. Leyton (0-1) travels to Morrill Saturday for its first road test of the year. 

Scoring: 

Kimball: Katie Heeg 12 pts. - Maddison Marryfield 11 pts. - Amy Birkhofer 9 pts. - Chantel Malson 7 pts. - Payton Wise 5 pts. - Emma Patterson 2 pts. 

Leyton: Zaili Benish 22 pts. - Sydney Fortune 7 pts. - Shawnee Gamble 6 pts. - Trinity Beutler 4 pts. - Axi Benish 3 pts. 

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The boys contest was not as close as Leyton returned a lot of experience from last year to face a Kimball squad consisting of mostly freshman. 

Leyton roared out to a quick start behind a 14 point first quarter from junior Justin Ernest. The Warriors took a 27-10 advantage into the second quarter. 

Ernest cooled off in the second quarter, but senior KJ Bush and junior Dillon Juelfs picked things up to each end the first half with 10 points. At the break Leyton led 40-17. 

Kimball played better in the second half, gathering in more rebounds and turning the ball over fewer times. The Longhorns defense also forced more difficult shots than in the first half. This was evident in the scoring. Leyton had outscored Kimball by 23 in the first half, but the Warriors only outpaced the Longhorns 25-20 in the second half. 

This was due in part to Kimball getting 14 points from sophomore Wyatt Cords, all of which came in the second half. In the end, Leyton kept Kimball out of reach, winning 65-37. 

Ernest finished the game with 22 points to lead all scorers while Juelfs had 14 points and Bush 13. 

Cords' 14 points paced Kimball while freshmen Kyler Lushe and Bransyn Kiefer added 13 and 10, respectively for the Longhorns. 

Leyton (1-0) travels to Morrill Saturday while Kimball (0-2) has its home opener Saturday against Minatare. 

Scoring:

Leyton: Justin Ernest 22 pts. - Dillon Juelfs 14 pts. - KJ Bush 13 pts. - Scout Gamble 8 pts. - Cort Rummel 6 pts. - Jakob Kruse 2 pts. - Jonathan Kruse 1 pt. 

Kimball: Wyatt Cords 14 pts. - Kyler Lushe 13 pts. - Bransyn Kiefer 10 pts.