Ralston basketball coach Bill Heard has seen a noticeable difference in his team in the second month of the season and he's hoping it's a trend that continues through the district tournament.
Heard's Ram squad wrapped up a fourth-place finish in the River Cities Conference Tournament Friday night with a 58-55 loss at No. 4 Skutt.
Ralston took a 6-10 record into Tuesday's home game with Harlan, Iowa. The Rams face a difficult road test Saturday as they venture to Beatrice to take on the No. 2 Orangemen.
The tourney's sixth seed, Ralston began the week by winning at third-seeded Roncalli 57-54 Jan. 17. A 73-44 loss to top-ranked South Sioux City in Thursday's semifinal was a disappointing performance, but Heard said the Rams redeemed themselves with their play Friday night.
"We played poorly against South Sioux, but we came back and competed and the guys played their tails off tonight," Heard said.
Heard said he's noticed a progression in his team over the past two weeks, even playing against a rugged Class B schedule.
"We're so much better than we were a month ago," he said. "We're playing with the better teams and we're close. There's a couple of things we have to clean up."
Ralston's competitive spirit was on display Friday night as it nearly overcame a 12-point deficit in the final five minutes.
William Bassett's steal and dunk capped a 9-0 Ram run that trimmed the lead to 52-49 with 2:30 remaining.
Ralston had a shot to tie a possession, but an Andy Chleborad 3-pointer was off the mark.
Bassett again got the Rams within three at 56-53 and a missed Skyhawk free throw left the Rams with another chance to tie. But Chleborad was just off the mark with a 3-pointer from the corner and Skutt's two free throws with six seconds left iced it.
"Andy's our best shooter and sometimes, they just don't fall," Heard said. "Will really kept us in the game."
Bassett hit for a season-high 30 points and scored 10 of Ralston's final 12 points of the night.
Jake Goltl added a dozen points for the Rams while Ryan Huff and Zach Flott combined for 17 rebounds.
The week began on a high note with the victory over the Crimson Pride.
Ralston trailed 31-29 at the break before outscoring the host team 28-23 over the final two quarters.
Bassett poured in 20 points to lead the way while Flott added 15 and Goltl 13. Flott led the Rams with seven rebounds while Goltl had four assists.
Two-time defending state champion South Sioux City was too much for the Rams in Thursday's semifinal game, racing to a 60-29 lead after three quarters.
Senior guard Bright Homawoo came off the bench to lead Ralston with 10 points and five rebounds.
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