Losing a game was one thing, but losing in the first round meant that the Warriors were relegated to the consolation bracket of the tournament. Wahoo had entered the tournament with the possibility of winning another championship; one that would clearly show how good the Wahoo program was. After the loss, it was quite possible that the Warriors would suffer a letdown. And with three more tournament games to play, more losses would give solid evidence that the small town Warriors did not belong at this level. Wahoo fans were wondering if the Warriors could bounce back.
Wahoo responded with a typical Warrior performance. The second round opponent was St. Joe Benton (Missouri), a team that had defeated Lincoln Southeast a week before the tournament. The Warriors jumped out to a 19 – 8 lead in the first quarter, forcing nine turnovers. The lead might have been more, but the Warriors could connect on only one of six freethrows. The second quarter was more of the same and Wahoo increased its lead to 36 – 19. Wahoo built on its lead in each of the final quarters and the final score was 71 – 47. Coach Anderson recognized the significance of the win: “We needed a win to just get our momentum back, our heads up. We sure didn’t want to start the tournament with two straight losses.”
With one tournament win under their belt, the Warriors were presented the opportunity in the next round to face a Class A team from Nebraska, the Links of Lincoln High. It was another patented Wahoo showing. After jumping out in front 16 – 1, Wahoo led the entire game and emerged with a victory, 84 – 53. Lincoln High Coach Bill Zuspan acknowledged Wahoo’s ability: “Once they get going, the only way you can stop them is to call timeouts and try and change the momentum”
In the final game of the tournament, Wahoo had a chance to claim the Consolation Championship. It wasn’t what they had hoped for at the start of the tournament, but a 3 – 1 record would speak well to the quality of the Warrior program. The Warriors faced another out of state school, Near North Chicago. The visitors put up 17 points in the first quarter, the most allowed by the Warriors up to that point in the season.* But Wahoo scored 29, many coming off of the 10 Chicago turnovers. The visitors pulled to within five late in the second quarter, but five consecutive points by Josh Anderson gave Wahoo a ten point half time lead. The third quarter belonged to the Warriors as they increased the lead to 74 – 54 with Mike Hancock scoring ten of his team high 35. Wahoo finished strong and claimed the Consolation Championship with a 106 – 75 win.
Whether or not the Wahoo performance in the tournament was a validation of the team’s inclusion among the best teams regardless of class would still be a matter of debate. Had the Warriors swept the tournament and won the championship, there would have been few doubters. But Wahoo did have a loss. But also, they had won three games; and they had won them in convincing style. Coach Anderson summed up the tournament experience: “We had a lot of pressure on us that first day and we had to play a very strong team right off the bat and we had a tough day. I thought after that loss that we continued to improve each game.” In the final analysis, the tournament experience produced the exact results Coach Anderson had always contended that a Class A schedule would produce: the Warriors wouldn’t win them all; the Warriors would win their fair share; the Warriors would emerge a better team.
Validation?
*Norris would be the only team to do better, scoring 19 first quarter points in the state championship game.
