Boys’ Basketball Falls Short in State Tournament

The boys’ basketball team fell short of their dreams of a state title in what was a historic season, placing fourth in 6A and ending the season with an impressive 21-4 record.

Despite the record, the team felt the pounding reality of the title out of reach after they went down to Blue Valley West on Friday night, 59-58.

The Lancers fought from behind most of the game, missing key free throws and shooting poorly down the stretch. The Lancers shot 13 for 20 from the line and missed several key chances. In the third quarter the Lancers gave up an outstanding 22 points, and the game seemed out of reach.

“Obviously, when you allow them to out rebound and score that many points it’s going to be tough,” Coach Hair said.

However late in the fourth quarter, after it seemed that nothing would go the Lancers way, senior Zach Schneider lead the way for a comeback by nailing three three-pointers to put the Lancers in reach. West gave East tons of chances to get back into the game by committing bad turnovers late. With around two minutes left sophomore Lucas Jones went to the free throw line with the Lancers down two points, he missed both free throws and then on the other end fouled senior Joey Lillis who made the basket and the free throw.

East had a chance to win the game, with less than 30 seconds left they controlled the ball, down by one. Schneider missed a three in the corner and West grabbed the rebound. The Lancers fouled with nine seconds left and sophomore Connor Kaiser made the first free throw, but missed his second. East rebounded the ball with no timeouts left and the clock ticking down.

The Lancers quickly found senior Vance Wentz on an outlet pass. Wentz drove the ball down the length of the court, similar to the game winning drive at the end of the SM West game earlier in the year. He made the bucket, but the Lancers remained a point behind West. The Jaguars didn’t even have to try and inbound the ball, letting the final two seconds tick off the clock. East left the court heartbroken with their dreams of a state title gone.

“We tried to force them to do what they were not used to by shooting outside shots,” Schneider said. “But they just kept on making them.”

The next day the Lancers had a chance to come out and still receive a third place trophy against the Derby Panthers. Coach Hair started a lineup of all seniors consisting of Cory Perkins, Connor McGannon, Chris Tuttle, Zach Schneider and Jackson Sublette.

The Lancers started off the game well, going into halftime leading 30 to 24, but the lead did not last long. Senior Taylor Schieber, who ended the game with 26 points, got on a roll and made several key three point plays for the Panthers. At one point Derby brought their lead up to nine points.

The Lancers failed to get their offense going most of the second half but still managed to make it a one point game with 26 seconds left. The Lancers got possession of the ball and called a timeout.

Coming out of the timeout the lancers set up a play with Wentz handling the ball. Wentz dribbled toward Schneider who had his back to the basket and handed it off. Schneider made a quick turn, faked the pass back to Wentz, took two dribbles and drove it to the goal. He went up and took some heavy contact, but no whistle was blown. The Lancer fans erupted in rage as Derby rebounded the missed layup. East immediately fouled, and Derby made both free throws to close out the game and end the Lancers’ incredible season.

Despite failing to place in the top three at State, senior Vance Wentz was proud of the team’s performance all season.

“This year was awesome,” Wentz said. “We won a school record 21 games, and to do it with all these guys was amazing. The younger guys should find success as long as they work hard. It will be fun to follow them the next couple years as an alumni.”

Blue Valley Northwest won the 6A State Tournament by defeating Blue Valley West in the final.