2/23/16 At Omaha Roncalli, Sub-District Semi-Finals
Wahoo 17 - 17 - 15 - 20 -- 69
Boys Town 17 - 15 - 17 - 22 -- 71
The Wahoo Warriors season was ended by the Boys Town Cowboys 71-69, on Tuesday night in Sub-District Semi-Final action at Omaha Roncalli. The Cowboys also ended Wahoo’s 12 game winning streak.
One of Boys Town’s starting guards, Larry McBride, passed away on Monday night from natural causes, making this an emotional night for the Cowboys.
Boys Town jumped out to a 11-4 lead midway through the first quarter. Back to back treys from Dylan Egr and Billy Hancock cut the lead to 11-10. The Warriors took their first lead at 15-14 on a second Billy Hancock trey. The first quarter ended with the game tied at 17.
In the second quarter, the Warriors started to take control. They led 29-22 after a Dylan Egr trey. A Jake Ruzicka free throw made it 30-22. Five Warrior turnovers though, in the last three minutes of the second quarter, allowed Boys Town to cut the lead to 34-32 at halftime.
The third quarter was tight and the lead changed hands several times. The third quarter ended tied at 49.
The Warriors took their last lead of the game at 50-49 on a Mitchell McGill free throw. The Cowboys would then take control and lead by as much as 8 at 61-53 with 2:00 minutes left. Wahoo would then mount a late game rally. Two Brendan Lacey free throws cut the lead to 61-55. Two more Billy Hancock free throws made it 61-57 with 1:36 left. Moments later a Brendan Lacey bucket cut the lead to 2 at 61-59. Two Boys Town baskets pushed the lead back to 65-59. Two Dylan Egr free throws with 33 seconds left made it 65-61. A Boys Town free throw made it 66-61. A Jake Ruzicka bucket cut the lead to 66-63 with 24 seconds left. A breakaway lay up made it 68-63. A Brendan Lacey basket made it 68-65 with 18 seconds left. A Boys Town breakaway lay up made it 70-65, but a Jake Ruzicka trey cut the lead to 70-68. A Boys Town free throw with 3.8 seconds left made it 71-68. Jake Ruzicka was then fouled with 0.8 seconds left. He made the first. He then intentionally missed the second free throw. Cameron Quick came up with the rebound and put the shot up at the buzzer, but it was just long, allowing Boys Town to escape with the win at 71-69.
“This was a very rewarding season for us. To go from 3-8, to go on a 12 game winning streak says a ton about these kids’ mental toughness and love of the game. It would have been very easy to check out mentally in early January, but these kids did not do that. They kept battling every day working hard to get better and it paid off for them in a big way. We had a great run the last six weeks of the season and I am really disappointed to see it end. It was a lot of fun.” Scheef added.
“I also have to mention what a great Senior we had in Jordan Ptacek. He did not get to play many minutes for us, but he came to practice every day, worked very hard, and was just the ultimate teammate. His teammates absolutely love him. He is an awesome young man, with a very bright future in front of him.” Said Scheef.
Billy Hancock led the Warriors with 17 points on 5-9 shooting from the three point line. Cameron Quick added 16 points on 6-9 shooting from the field and 8 boards. Jake Ruzicka added 14 points and 6 boards. Dylan Egr had 11 points on 3-5 shooting from behind the arc.
The Warriors were out rebounded 42-28, but were 9-20 from the three point line.
Wahoo ends it’s season at 15-9. Boys Town improves to 15-8 and will face Bishop Neumann on Thursday in the Sub-District final.
