ELK HORN (Dec. 20) -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton boys basketball team evened its record at 3-3 going into the holiday break with a 55-39 home win vs. West Harrison here Friday night. Senior Creighton Nelson had another big game for the Spartans, making 12-of-14 field goals and 9-of-11 free throws on his way to 33 points and 11 rebounds.

 ELK HORN (Dec. 20) -- Hot three-point shooting and defense carried the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls past West Harrison 82-22 Friday night in the final game before Christmas break. The Spartans improved to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the Rolling Valley Conference, hitting 12-of-26 threes and totaling 20 steals and 22 assists.

 AVOCA (Dec. 17) -- Raydden Grobe’s outside shooting ignited a 40-18 start for the AHSTW boys basketball team Tuesday night as the sixth-ranked (1A) Vikings improved to 7-0 with a 78-48 win over Missouri Valley. Grobe knocked down four straight 3-pointers to start the game and scored 14 of AHSTW’s first 18 points.

 AVOCA (Dec. 17) -- The AHSTW girls basketball team bounced back from its first loss of the season in a big way earlier this week, routing its next two opponents by a combined 103 points. The 11th-ranked (2A) Lady Vikes suffered an overtime defeat vs.

 HARLAN (Dec. 13) -- Harlan Community’s last-second layup rolled off the rim and Denison-Schleswig grabbed the rebound as time expired last Friday, giving the Monarch girls a 48-47 Hawkeye Ten Conference win over the Cyclones. Harlan’s second frustrating loss in as many nights dropped its record to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

 ELK HORN (Dec. 14) -- Freshman Quinn Grubbs scored 11 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter and senior Ellie Schultes also tallied 21 last Saturday as the 15th-ranked (1A) Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls erased a 10-point halftime deficit to beat IKM-Manning 54-50. The area non-conference matchup featured a frenetic pace much of the way and saw IKM-M (4-2) finish with 27 turnovers and 27 fouls.

 ELK HORN (Dec. 14) -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton boys basketball team steadily built a 34-22 halftime lead and knocked down 20-of-27 free throws last Saturday in a 65-51 non-conference win over IKM-Manning. The Spartans (2-3 overall) were led by senior Creighton Nelson’s 28-point outing.

 MANNING (Dec. 13) -- The IKM-Manning boys scored only 12 first-half points and shot 25 percent for the game last Friday in a 50-35 home loss to Tri-Center.

 WOODBINE (Dec.

 BOYS TOWN, NEB. (Dec.

 AVOCA (Dec.

 AVOCA (Dec.

  SHENANDOAH -- The Harlan Community girls and boys bowling teams were both defeated by Shenandoah on December 9 and dropped to 1-1 on the season. Results are as follows.
HCHS Bowling Results • Dec. 9 • at Shenandoah

 PANORA (Dec.

 HARLAN (Dec. 13) -- In terms of athletic prowess, Harlan Community senior Connor Bruck may be best known for his skills on the baseball diamond. His basketball heroics, however, are rapidly becoming the stuff of legend. Last February, Bruck’s last-second driving layup gave HCHS a 64-62 home win over Creston.