Package: Boys’ Basketball vs. BV Northwest

Story by Julia Poe:

The gym at BV Northwest was small. It made the cacophony of the East student section even louder as Collin Burns sank a three point shot, putting the Lancers up 5-0 in the first minute of the substate championship. On the bench, the team was on their feet, roaring support to their teammates.

Going into the game, the Lancers knew they were the underdogs. They were up against the reigning state champions, a squad with five returning starters who were committed or considering teams at Division I schools. BV Northwest had lost two games in two years.

But for the first few minutes of the substate game, the Lancers dominated the game. A quick drive by sophomore Joey Wentz was followed up by the three by Burns, and the Lancers were alive and rampant with hope. An upset seemed to be brewing as the Lancers kept a lead for most of the first quarter.

By the end of the half, the Lancers had fallen behind by eight. That lead would eventually stretch to 14, but it wasn’t a tearful loss for the squad. In their 63-49 loss, the Lancers won a series of small victories.

The team found Burns and junior Gunnar Englund open in the corner for multiple threes. Junior Lucas Jones swatted shots out of bounds and remained steady on defense throughout the night. And to the final seconds, when the senior bench was cleared and the crowd chanted, “Thank you seniors,” the student section stayed loud and committed to supporting the team.

“Most of the game we were down around seven or eight points and couldn’t get any closer than that,” Englund said. “I feel if we could have broken that mark then the game might have ended different, but they were the ones hitting the shots, and we couldn’t shorten their lead. They deserve a ton of credit, that’s a great team.”

The BV Northwest squad was calm and experienced, led by senior Iowa State commit Clayton Custer. Custer was quick off the dribble and effortlessly handled the ball, making it difficult for the Lancers to guard him tightly. When Custer couldn’t find an opening, he was backed up by senior Washburn University commit David Salach, who turned the tide on the game in the second half with a powerful left-handed slam dunk.

Although the lead stretched in the final quarter, the Lancers continued to battle for open shots. The second half was dry for the Lancers, and free throws helped to extend the lead of the highly-accurate BV Northwest squad. In the final minute, coach Shawn Hair put in his seniors to enjoy their final time on the court.

“The support from the East community was outstanding this year,” senior Luke Haverty said. “We created a lot of life long memories. The team next year will be special.”

 Gallery by Marisa Walton: