GIRLS = Burlington 34, Holton 29

In the first game of the year it took nearly four minutes for either team to score but Holton used a 6-0 run to take a 9-3 early lead.  Burlington would find their footing and score 12 straight points to go ahead 15-9 and never trail again. Holton had a chance to tie the game at 21 in the third quarter but could not find enough offense to mount a comeback after trailing by four points and halftime and 28-23 starting the fourth quarter.  

Holton had 24 turnovers and was led in scoring by Macey Patch with 12 points while Brooke Flewelling added five and Tiarra Dodd and Lindsey Wisdom each chipped in four.  Burlington got nine points each from Karlie Whitworth and Caydence Doebele and two big treys from Harlee Young in the second period that ignited their run to take the lead for good. 

BOYS = Holton 54, Burlington 50

Both boys teams looked in mid-season form and played some really good basketball, even with Holton only having a week of practices. The game was similiar to a year ago when Burlington built a double-digit lead in the first half before Holton rallied and held on for the win. 

Sam Smith scored eight early points to help Burlington to a 16-9 lead after one quarter and the lead was 24-14 halftway through the second stanza. Trailing 27-22 entering the third quarter, Holton scored seven straight points out of the locker room led by Tyson Snyder as Holton built their biggest lead at 36-31 with a timeout at the 4:05 mark. Smith again responded for Burlington and got hot with 11 points in the third period to pull the visitors ahead before a trey by Snyder tied the game at 44-44 heading to the final quarter.

Jace Boswell broke a 50-50 tie with his only bucket of the night with four minutes remaining and Holton would end up holding Burlington scoreless for the final six minutes of the game with some huge stops down the stretch. After missing a one-and-one with 21 seconds remaining, Snyder nailed a pair of free throws with two ticks on the clock to seal the 54-50 win. 

Snyder finished with 22 points while Matt Lierz got 11 of his 18 in the first half to celebrate his birthday. Jake Zeller hit a couple big treys in the second half to add six points for Holton who won seven games by four points or less a year ago and notch another to start this season. Holton had 14 turnovers, but only four in the second half. 

Burlington went 10-12 from the foul line but all those came in the first half as Smith finished with a game high 23 points and Ty Anderson added 11 including a pair of treys in the fourth quarter.