The crowd was roaring, coaches were screaming, and the players left everything on the court. The heated Cass vs Logansport rivalry was finally here. The game that players, fans, and coaches look forward to every season. Preparation and dedication from all aspects of the game went into that Saturday night in January. Both teams were willing and worthy to take home the victory through hustle, hunger, and hard work. But only one team reigned victorious, the Lewis Cass Kings. On the night of January 17th, 2026, the Kings absolutely conquered their rivals, the Logansport Berries. With outstanding efforts from everyone in the Cass gymnasium that night, the Kings pulled through and reigned supreme over the Berries.
A winning team is not created overnight; it takes dedication and preparation. That is exactly what the Kings did. The Kings were coming straight from a victory Friday night over the Rochester Zebras, but they did not back off. They were at it again early Saturday morning, bringing it to the Berries. “Saturday’s practice included a film session to show players what Logansport is capable of and a short walk-through on the court to go over some slight adjustments to what we do defensively in order to be able to guard the size that Logansport had. Then we got a lot of shots with the remaining time,” head coach Branz stated. Senior basketball player Brennan Deeter was quoted as saying, “The attention to detail that morning was as good as I’ve seen from this team. Everyone was locked in. Something that we have to find for every game.” That Saturday morning practice definitely propelled the players to their victory later that night.
The players and coaches were not the only ones gearing up for the game. The Cass pride was school-wide all week as the big game awaited. The Pep Club took social media to their advantage to get under the berries’ skin. Pep Club President Harry Clark said, “Anytime Cass faces Logan, we’ve got to go all out,” and that they definitely did. The club posted three times leading up to the game: first announcing their pregame show, then revealing their guest picker for the show, and finally, the usual day-before game post. This had the Kings ready for the big game days before.
The night was finally here. As you walked through the gymnasium of Lewis Cass that night, you could feel a sense of pride mixed with anticipation from every individual. Cass fans showed up and showed out as seas of navy and crimson painted the stands of Lewis Cass that night. The pep band roaring in your ears as we all awaited that 7:30 tipoff is a feeling that defines high school basketball nights.
The Kings started hot and quickly took control of the game with an 18-6 lead in the first quarter. It seemed as if the Berries could not buy a bucket, but the commanding Cass defense is what really takes the credit. Coach Branz says they have a saying they try to live by, “Know your no’s.” “If we execute this idea, we are successful,” and that they were. The dominating defense set the tone early for the Kings, and you could not tell if the players or fans were more hyped. Pep Club President Harry Clark was quoted, “From the student section, the game was absolutely lit. We were putting the belt on Logan all game, so the vibes were high the whole time.” This energy definitely carried onto the floor. Senior basketball player, Owen Cotner Graves, stated, “The support from the crowd was incredible and definitely helped us keep momentum on our side and propelled us to the win.” The energy was not only coming from the students, but the other fans were also just as hyped. Deeter had a quote that I felt needed to be highlighted. He said, “It felt like we were playing for something more than just ourselves.” I feel like this is the epitome of high school basketball.
Cass kept the pedal to the metal in the second quarter, adding another eleven points to their lead. The defense has another outstanding eight minutes, holding the Berries to only five points in the second quarter. As they went into the locker room at the half, the score was 29-11. We can only imagine the heated discussion going on in the Logan locker room. But Cass went in with heads high and anticipation even higher. With this, Branz said, “The locker room was calm because we knew the game wasn’t over yet.” They knew Logansport did not typically start out hot, and they tended to turn it on later in the game. They pick it up and cause more deflections, which is what they did.
Doubling the points they had in the first half, the Berries came out hot. They pulled off an impressive twenty-two points in the third quarter while the Kings only put up eleven. After this Berry run, fans and players were left uneasy. Coach Branz had to, “remind players that they knew this was going to happen and they had to have better body language and control their emotions.” In such a high-intensity game, it is easy to get caught up in the bad. “That is easier said than done,” coach stated. But the Kings prevailed, and their grit showed. Branz was quoted, “We don’t like taking the easy way out. Toughness is about accepting responsibility, learning from mistakes, and getting better from those mistakes. Our guys did a tremendous job regaining composure late in the third quarter,” and that they did. “Brennan hit the three from the corner in front of our student section to regain the momentum going into the 4th quarter,” Branz stated. That momentum fired everyone up, and the Kings throughout the gym, on the court, and in the stands, were ready to put the nail in the Berry’s coffin.
Cass went into the fourth quarter 40-33, still maintaining their lead. In a hard-fought fourth quarter, the Kings came out victorious. Though the Berries put up thirteen, Cass’s hustle was unmatched, with the solid twenty-three points that were added to our side of the scoreboard. Lewis Cass took their royal victory with a final score of 61-46. The “boys from Walton,” as Harry Clark would say, left everything on the court that night. From outstanding defense to game-changing shots, Cass came to play. Cotner-Graves even said, “I think this is the best overall game that we have played.” The passion the Cass Kings put behind pummeling the Logan Berries is what powered them through to “get that W.”
With this, the Kings are now at the halfway point in the season, as hard as that is to believe. The boys have had an impressive season with a winning record of 8-4 overall and 4-2 in the conference. Branz said, “We cannot be satisfied and relax. If we want to continue moving in this direction, I think we have to do the opposite. We need to work harder and have more focus and discipline because teams always play better when they know they are playing a good team.” He plans to work even harder as the boys head into the tournament as well. The hard work will pay off; they just need to trust the process. Branz said this well in his quote, “I want our focus to be on the process. If we attack each practice with focus and discipline, the outcome will be better. To me, there is no point in worrying about what the future holds when the only thing that determines the outcome is how much effort and energy you put into where your feet are.” I believe this quote shows how important it is to understand what your hard work is for, but also to not put too much thought into the future. If the players just focus and remember to use those two hours of practice as a new opportunity to get better and grow as a player, I think their season will be even more successful.
Overall, this game was not just a rivalry game, and it was not just about basketball. It was about the chanting student section full of Kings ready to support their fellow classmates. It was about the proud parents who were there to support the hard work of their children. It was about the supportive Cass alum filling the stands to be reminded of just how much Cass-Pride still remains. Basketball may be fun and entertaining to watch, but the true takeaway is the overwhelming joy and pride you feel after victories such as this.
