It wasn’t the type of season that the Britton-Hecla boys basketball team had in mind, but the way the squad finished the year left the Braves with a positive outlook for the future.
Coach Troy Knecht’s club ended up with a 4-17 record but took a 15-6 Waverly-South Shore unit that played in a SoDak 16 game last night Tuesday to overtime before dropping a 55-53 decision in the Region 1B quarterfinals. That effort came after a 5225 loss to the Coyotes seven weeks ago.
“I think it was the best we’ve played in a meaningful game since I started coaching here,” said B-H boss Troy Knecht. “W-SS is a good team and played for a state tournament spot last night (Tuesday). At the end of the day we had a chance to win at the very end of the game and it didn’t go in for us.”
By halftime the Coyotes knew that the regional contest wasn’t going to be at all like the regular season blowout when the Braves grabbed a 26-23 lead. There were four lead changes in the third stanza and when Ty Fagerland sandwiched a pair of treys around a fastbreak bucket off an assist from Daniel Person, Dawson Treeby added a three-pointer, and Graham Fosness added a charity toss the Braves took their biggest lead of the half at 40-34 with 1:20 left in the third.
W-SS, however, came up with a quick answer, hitting a trio of treys of their own to key a 12-0 run and took a 46-40 lead with 4:22 left in the game. But the Braves reeled off a 90 run of their own when Jaxon Zuehlke scored on a couple of pretty moves inside, Fagerland and Person converted steals, and Person added a free toss for a 49-46 advantage at the 1:29 mark.
The hosts hit a trey to knot the contest with 1:08 remaining, Person hit a pair of pressure free throws for a 51-49 B-H lead with 57 ticks left, and the Coyotes tied the game again with 15 seconds to play that ended up forcing an extra period.
W-SS hit a free toss to lead by one with 2:54 to play in OT and the Braves missed an opportunity when four straight free throws were off the mark in a 30-second stretch. Fosness connected on a fielder in the lane for a 53-52 Braves’ lead with 1:24 left and B-H had a pair of shots underneath to pad that lead with 33 seconds remaining but the ball wouldn’t fall.
The Coyotes went up 54-53 and the Braves turned the ball over on their possession at the 13-second mark. Person just about came up with a steal but W-SS hit a free toss with 1.4 seconds to play. The Braves did get a good look at a trey at the buzzer for the win but the shot was just off the mark.
Britton-Hecla’s two seniors led the scoring effort with Fagerland lacing 16 and Treeby 10.
“Games really come down to free throws and layups most of the time, and we had our chances both in regulation and overtime,” said Knecht. “I thought we had a good game plan and the kids believed they could win. They played like they belonged there that night and it’s a nice springboard for us going into next year.”
Knecht thinks his squad can look forward to building off some positives from the season.
“I think we did a really good job of rebounding throughout the year, and it shows we are getting kids that have some size and length and some ability in the paint. That’s something we can really build on is a strong inside game on both ends of the court,” concluded Knecht. “The key for us next year will be our shooting. We only shot 33% as a team this year, and if we can raise that percentage eight to 10 points that will be a key to our success.”
BRITTON-HECLA: William Richter 1 0-0 3, Ty Fagerland 6 0-2 16, Dawson Treeby 4 0-0 10, Daniel Person 2 3-4 7, Graham Fosness 2 1-2 6, Jordyn McGregor 1 1-2 3, Jaxon Zuehlke 4 0-5 8. Totals 20 5-15 53.
WAVERLY-SOUTH SHORE: Colton Kranz 3 0-4 7, Sam Appelhof 8 1-3 21, Zach Ries 7 2-4 18, Cody Thompson 1 4-8 6, Brady Eschen 1 1-2 3. Totals 20 8-20 55.
B-H (4-17) 12 26 40 51 53 (OT) W-SS (15-6) 6 23 38 51 55
3-point goals – Richter, Fagerland 4, Treeby 2, Fosness; Kranz, Appelhof 4, Ries 2. Fouled out – McGregor. Totals fouls – BH 17, WSS 11.
