It is not uncommon for teams qualifying for the state tournament to find themselves in a rematch of a regular season game. The 1989 Wahoo team faced Syracuse for a third time when they met in the semifinals. Had the 1990 team forecast a team from their schedule to meet again, Schuyler might have been well down the list. After all, the Warriors from Schuyler hadn’t done much to impress Wahoo’s Warriors in their initial meeting -- a 38 point shellacking in which Jason Glock had scored his record 52 points and Randy Hoffman hadn’t even played. Schuyler had followed that game with a 7 point win over David City Aquinas (a team Wahoo had beaten by 51) in the final regular season game. Then, the green Warriors put together three wins in the District Tournament, defeating Pierce, West Point and Columbus Scotus -- all three were unranked teams, not mentioned even as “contenders” when the district tournaments began. So when Wahoo began preparation for their first round opponent, Coach Anderson might have found it a hard sell when trying to convince his team that Schuyler presented a realistic threat to their championship quest.
From the Schuyler side, it was evident that a return to the tournament was a bit of a surprise to the green Warriors themselves after struggling earlier in the season. Coach Steve Peterson related that they were “tickled pink to be going down there again.” But then he balanced that elation with the prospect of a second matchup with Wahoo -- “It would be even better if we didn’t have to play a team like Wahoo.” As he prepared his team for the opening contest, Coach Peterson noted the obvious, “we know some things that won’t work against them.” With the pre tournament publicity, the win streak and the ranking with the Class A teams, most teams might be a little intimidated by Wahoo. Throw in the Schuyler players’ personal experience in the earlier beat down suffered in Wahoo and the conclusion would be that Coach Peterson might have a hard sell in convincing his team they could compete.
As the Wahoo faithful got comfortable in their seats at the Bob Devaney Sports Center that Thursday morning, most were probably speculating on things like whether or not Jason Glock could set a new state tournament record for individual scoring; how many points might Wahoo score with Randy Hoffman back in the starting lineup -- maybe they could set a record; how much playing time the reserves would get. Some of the more pessimistic might be concerned about an injury of some sort in this easy win dimming the prospects for a dominant march to a Class B State Championship that would produce an All Class #1 ranking for the Warriors. But that attitude quickly changed as the Schuyler team served notice that they had come to play.
When the first quarter closed, the score was tied 12 - 12. Schuyler employed a triangle and two defense, focusing on Ryan Eddie and Jason Glock. And it was working. Eddie hadn’t scored and Glock was held to two points, scored in the first minute of the quarter. While Wahoo missed several easy scoring opportunities, Schuyler broke the Wahoo press to score some quick baskets. Schuyler actually led 8 - 6 and 10 - 9. Enter Bernie Inbody -- the junior sharpshooter was put into the game in the latter part of the first quarter to try to loosen up the Schuyler defense that was collapsing inside so effectively. Inbody failed to connect on his first two attempts from three point range, but then nailed one just inside the one minute mark to put Wahoo up 12 - 10. With Schuyler holding the ball for a last shot, Inbody stripped the ball, but an errant pass ended up in the hands of Corey Stull from Schuyler and he dribbled uncontested to the rim for the layup that tied the score at 12. It appeared Schuyler had dodged a bullet -- seats on the Wahoo side weren’t quite so comfortable.
But Inbody was just getting started. Glock opened the second quarter with a jumper from the high post -- then Inbody drained a three from the left wing. Glock scored a three from the corner. Wahoo was on a 22 - 5 run. Inbody would cash in two more threes in the quarter, scoring all of his game’s 13 points in the first half. Ryan Eddie added a three to bring Wahoo’s total for the quarter to five. When the half ended, Wahoo held a 39 - 22 lead and Schuyler’s triangle and two was finished. Peterson: “When Inbody came in and hit the three-pointers, we almost had to get out of it.” Schuyler would go man to man in the second half and try to make one more run at Wahoo.
Enter Jason Glock -- he would score 30 second half points. Peterson: “Man to man, we just couldn’t handle Glock inside.” The bright side for the Schuyler Warriors was that the offense kept pace, actually outscoring Wahoo in the third and fourth quarters. But they came no closer than nine points. Peterson speculated that they could have gone back to the zone, but then thought that Wahoo, with the lead, would ultimately just hold the ball. That might have kept the score close, but Peterson stated, “Do you play to keep it close or do you play to win? We don’t play to keep it close.” He didn’t realize that in Wahoo’s world, the 15 point win was close -- at least as close as anybody had been.
While the Wahoo fans were happy with the win, some were shaking their heads, wondering what was wrong that this second meeting with Schuyler had been so much closer -- was the team losing its edge? Coach Anderson commented, “You can’t expect blowouts when you reach the state tournament,” and “We simply can’t look like a million dollars every time out.” Wahoo’s expected second round opponent (according to the seeding), Lexington, found out that the top seed doesn’t necessarily prevail -- they were edged by Lincoln Pius X, 55 - 56. That set up a third meeting in three years between Pius and Wahoo at the state tournament. This one would be in the semifinals, but the Warriors could expect to confront a highly motivated Pius team that was still smarting from the last two that they had lost by the narrowest of margins. Coach Anderson: “Pius? That should be a great game. It seems the last two times we played were pretty memorable.” The Wahoo players had had their wake up call and would also have no problem getting motivated to play their rival. The next day’s preparation to play wouldn’t be such a “hard sell.”
part 4 -- threes |
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Jason Glock scores the opening basket; Troy Johnston gets the steal and lays it off the backboard for Randy Hoffman's follow; Bernie Inbody hits his first three at the end of the first quarter; Glock hits a jumper from the freethrow line; Inbody for another three; Glock for a three; Ryan Eddie adds his three points worth; Glock for another jumper; Scott Latham hits a freethrow after time has expired to give the Warriors their 17 point first half lead; end of game scoreboard.
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| While the fans might have been expecting a blowout, the Wahoo coaching staff had the Warriors prepared to play a different Schuyler team. |
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| "We played particularly well and I don't think Schuyler played as well as they can (in the regular season game). Plus, it was the last home game for our seniors and that made it more emotional for us." -- Coach Anderson |
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| Wahoo |
12
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27
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15
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22
|
76
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| Schuyler |
12
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10
|
16
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23
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61
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| Platteview |
fg |
ft |
3pt. |
pts |
| J. Glock |
15/22 |
8/11 |
1/1 |
39 |
| Hoffman |
5/11 |
3/5 |
0 |
13 |
| Eddie |
1/8 |
2/2 |
1/7 |
5 |
| Johnston |
0/1 |
1/4 |
0 |
1 |
| Inbody |
4/10 |
1/1 |
4/9 |
13 |
| Simons |
0/0 |
0/0 |
0/1 |
0 |
| Dvorak |
0/0 |
2/2 |
0 |
2 |
| Toline |
1/1 |
0/0 |
0 |
2 |
| Volin |
0/3 |
0/0 |
0 |
0 |
| Latham |
0/0 |
1/2 |
0 |
1 |
| Anderson |
0/0 |
0/2 |
0 |
0 |
| Total |
26/57 |
18/29 |
6/18 |
76 |
| Schuyler |
22/49 |
13/19 |
4/14 |
61 |
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| The Schuyler roster and record as it appeared in the state tournament program. |
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| Randy Hoffman completes a conventional 3 point play in the first quarter -- Hoffman's 7 first quarter points kept Wahoo even with Schuyler. |
Bernie Inbody netted 4 three pointers in the first half to open up the Wahoo lead. |
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| Jason Glock's 39 points was the most scored by a Wahoo player in a state tournament game. |
Along with Glock, Ryan Eddie was the focus of Schuyler's first half triangle and two defense. |
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| "Inbody's outside shooting was the difference because we had to go out and get him." -- Schuyler coach, Steve Peterson |
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