Gothenburg boys move to 4-0.

Fueled by a triple double from senior post player Korey Ahlenstorf, the Gothenburg boys basketball team kept its win streak in tact Saturday evening with a 66-34 victory over Perkins County.

Ahlenstorf had 14 points and 12 rebounds but the double-digit number Swede coach Roger Koehler said he was most excited about was Ahlenstorf’s 10 assists.

“We passed the ball extremely well,” Koehler said, “probably the best we’ve seen. We tell the kids it doesn’t matter who scores as long as they’re wearing a Gothenburg uniform.”

The players are buying into that concept, the coach said.

“Korey got the ball inside plenty,” Koehler said, “but what he did an exceptionally good job with was kicking it back out when the shot wasn’t there.”

Gothenburg rolled out to a 17-4 lead in the first quarter using quick passes to create offensive plays before the Plainsmen could get into position.

Koehler said the snappy ball movement allowed Gothenburg to get the ball in the open player’s hands for good shot selection.

As a team, the Swedes had 27 assists and only 12 turnovers. That’s a good assist to turnover ratio, the coach said.

The Swedes continued to run away from Perkins County in the second quarter, heading into the halftime break with a comfortable 31-11 advantage.

While the Plainsmen found a little offense in the third period, it wasn’t nearly enough to make up the sizeable deficit.

In addition to Ahlenstorf, Logan Koehler finished with double-digit scoring as well, going 7-for-7 from the field for 14 points.

“We did a good job of spreading the ball around and had solid team effort,” the coach said, “but I think our size was a definite advantage.”

It’s the first time since the 1985-86 basketball season that the Gothenburg Swedes have started the year with a perfect 4-0 record.

That year, the Gothenburg boys finished 11-7 after losing in the B-7 district final.

“I’m proud of the kids,” Koehler said. “We are progressing every game, every week.”

This week’s schedule will provide a tough test for the unbeaten Swedes.

North Platte St. Pat’s, which was pre-season ranked No. 7 in Class C-2 by the World-Herald, comes to town Thursday.

The Irish are 2-1 on the year with their only loss to Hershey last weekend.

“We’re going to have to take advantage of our size again and not give up easy transition points,” Koehler said.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Then Friday the Swedes travel to Holdrege (0-2).

“Holdrege lost a lot of players from last year so they are kind of in a rebuilding season,” Koehler said. “No matter what, they always play us tough, though.”