“Aurora is a team that has good quickness, they have a big man in the middle and they have a good point guard and those are usually the things that make you a strong team.” – Coach Anderson
Josh Hermann went to the line at Pershing and sank two freethrows as the Wahoo subs got to play the fourth quarter against Aurora.
Seniors Mike Hancock and Louie Wotipka rest on the bench during the fourth quarter.
"I'm not only impressed with the way they start their (full-court) press, but also by the way they can finish it off on the offensive end." -- Aurora Coach Phil Warrick
THE SCRIPT -- the way it all would end
waltzing -- remembering sydney

According to the script, Wahoo would win their first round game at the state tournament fairly easily.  However, the 1994 Warriors were well aware that sometimes scripts weren’t followed. Wahoo had rarely been challenged in the first round of the tournament, but Coach Anderson wanted his team to keep in mind the previous season’s struggle against an unranked Sidney team that actually had a losing record:  “Last year, everyone figured Sidney would be a waltz and that wasn’t the case so records can be deceiving.”  Wahoo’s first round opponent at the Class B state tournament in 1994 was the #7 seed, Aurora (14–10). It would be the first time since 1989 that Wahoo hadn’t been the top seed in the state tournament.  But the first round seeding didn’t seem to make much difference.  While top seeded and undefeated Norris would play unranked Ogallala (12 – 9), the Warriors would also face an unranked team in Aurora.

Facing a perceived weaker opponent always has the potential to produce overconfidence and allow a team to become distracted.  It was perhaps a blessing that the 1993 team had been challenged by Sidney in the opening round of the state tournament.  Certainly, for the three returning starters, being tied with the Raiders in the third quarter, and not really clinching that first round win until the final minutes, was a vivid memory.  The loss in the Prep Classic Tournament also kept the 1994 Warriors focused on the task at hand.  Coach Anderson commented on the loss:  “I think it showed us that on a given night we can stumble and that you need to keep working hard and improving as a team.”  The 1994 Warriors were not going to be deterred from their goal due to complacency.  Coach Anderson saw that in his team:  “The kids have been through this before and they know what it takes and I think by Thursday, you’ll see a pretty focused basketball team.”  The coach was right.

Mike Hancock 11, Aurora 2 – that’s the way the scorebook read in the first three minutes of the game.  On the first possession, Wahoo worked the ball against the Aurora zone and Hancock swished a three from the top of the key.  After a Husky score, Wahoo again passed the ball around the perimeter and Hancock netted another three, this time from the right corner.  Wahoo then forced a couple of Aurora turnovers, but was unable to capitalize.  Then Greg Hain got a steal and hit Hancock for a lay-up.  Another Husky turnover – Hancock open in the right corner – another three! Travis Toline added an inside bucket and a freethrow and Mike Simons made a follow tip-in to complete a 16 -2 run at the start of the game.  At the first quarter buzzer, Greg Hain scored a three and Wahoo led 29 – 9.  And it didn’t get much better after that.  The Warriors scored 21 in the second period to take a 50 – 17 half time lead.  Wahoo came out in the third quarter and put an exclamation point on the victory.  Hancock initiated a 12 – 2 run with back to back three’s to start the quarter and Wahoo led 68 – 26 at the end of the third.  Coach Anderson cleared the bench in the fourth and subs Chris Anderson, Sean Forbes and Eric Eddie each got the opportunity to sink a three at the state tournament.  The Warriors prevailed 81 – 43.

Aurora coach Phil Warrick entered the game well aware of Wahoo’s abilities.  He commented that they “didn’t see anything I didn’t think we’d be ready for.”  But then he added, “ … they were quicker than I even thought they were.  They’re not only quick with their feet, but with their hands and minds as well.”  Wahoo forced 26 Husky turnovers and shot nearly fifty percent from the field.  Led by Hancock’s 26 and Hain’s 21, the Warriors posted its biggest first round winning margin in its eight year run at state.  Coach Warrick had entered the game indicating that Aurora was “really focused” and ready for Wahoo:  “I think the kids want to go in there and play them tough and show that (Wahoo) isn’t going to walk over us.”  In the end, it was a Warrior run more than a walk.  Or maybe it could be described as a waltz – unlike the Sidney game the previous year, the Warriors were waltzing into the second round of the big dance, just as it had been scripted.
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1) Mike Hancock opens the scoring for Wahoo in the state tournament with a three; 2) Greg Hain steals and hits Hancock for the lay-up; 3) Josh Anderson comes up with the steal and passes ahead to Hain for the score; 4) Chris Anderson hits a three; 5) Eric Eddie hits a three; 6) Sean Forbes hits a three.
YEAR seed score opponent score margin
1987 6 47 Ravenna 34 13
1988 3 61 Ord 58 3
1989 1 76 Ogallala 40 36
1990 1 76 Schuyler 61 15
1991 1 66 Lincoln Pius X 41 25
1992 1 92 Plattsmouth 55 37
1993 1 65 Sidney 49 16
1994 2 81 Aurora 43 38
Wahoo had been successful in all eight of its first round games at the state tournamen since 1987. The average winning margin was over 22 points.
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FINAL
Wahoo 29 21 18 13 81
Aurora 9 8 9 17 43
29 points was the most ever scored by a Wahoo team in the first quarter of a first round game in the state tournament.
“We came down here and played hard against the best team in the state. That’s alll you can do. If there is a better team in the state, I haven’t seen them.” -- Aurora Coach Phil Warrick
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