Gothenburg downs Lex 48-30.

A few first-game butterflies fluttered away some easy open shots Friday night but Gothenburg boys coach Roger Koehler said his Swedes have high expectations and played up to them with a 42-30 victory over Lexington.

“We played fairly well for the first game,” Koehler said. “I thought our man-to-man defense did a good job. It would be awesome if we could keep that up all year.”

The Swedes held Lexington to just six points in the first quarter, leading 15-6 at the end of the period.

“I was pleased with the way we executed the offense,” Koehler said. “And the defense was high energy.”

The Swedes continued to clamp down on the Minutemen in the second quarter but Lexington worked its way back into the game, closing the gap to 26-19 at the break.

“It’s so difficult to simulate game speed in practice,” Koehler said. “You can drill and drill but the adrenaline is just different. I think that’s a big part of the first game.”

Gothenburg’s defense settled in during the second half, sparked by senior Alec Foster.

“Alec brings a lot of energy to the court,” Koehler said. “The other kids kind of feed off that.”

Lexington pulled to within five points right away as the second half began but the Swedes didn’t allow the Minutemen to get any closer.

A foul by Lexington’s Arliss Alvarez on a three-point bucket by Swede senior Brett Dockweiler put an end to the Minutemen’s hopes toward the end of the third quarter as Dockweiler made the free throws to put Gothenburg up 35-23.

The outcome was never in question after that.

“If we would have hit all of the bunny shots we missed, I think we could have scored 65 points or more,” Koehler said. “A lot of that comes from the first game but that’s something we’re definitely going to have to clean up.”

Ten players scored for the Swedes, a balanced accomplishment Koehler said he hopes continues.

Logan Koehler led the way with 13 points. He also had four assists and five rebounds.

Dockweiler chipped in with eight points while Korey Ahlenstorf had seven points and Aaron Collins added six.

Kody Kenton was high scorer for Lexington with eight points.