Flyers hold off late HNS rally to hand 'Cats another setback

HARTINGTON — It was another heartbreaker for the Hartington-Newcastle boys’ basketball team Tuesday as a 50-49 loss to Humphrey St. Francis Tuesday left the team still searching for its first win.

HNS started the game strong, going on a 7-0 run to lead the Flyers at the beginning of the game. HSF would come storming back in the first quarter though, and head into the second quarter with a 12-10 lead.

The Wildcats struggled in the second quarter though. The Flyers defense would bring more pressure, trapping the HNS ball handler as soon as he passed mid-court. The HNS players would have a hard time adjusting- ing before halftime, and forced turnovers by the Flyers would extend the lead to a commanding 32-18 at halftime.

Hartington-Newcastle head coach Nick Haselhorst said adjustments didn’t really need to be made at halftime, the players just needed to execute more.

“We just adjusted to the pres- sure, we settled in a little bit, we moved, and we just made quicker decisions before their trap set in on us,” said Hasel- horst. “In the first half, we were holding the ball, letting it get set up and making dif cult passes. It was just too easy for them because we weren’t moving the ball fast enough.”

The Wildcats would claw their way back into the game, outscoring the Flyers 17-7 in the third quarter. Heading into the final eight minutes, Hartington-New- castle cut the de cit to 39-35.

The fourth quarter was a battle to the very end. Both team’s defenses came alive, forcing turnovers that resulted in layups in transition.

HNS sophomore Kobe Heitman led the Wildcats with three steals and six assists on the night, and he got the fans in purple to their feet in the fourth when he dished a no-look behind the back pass to Shaye Morten for an easy layup, fooling Flyers defender Trevor Pfeifer who jumped to attempt a block.

With less than a minute left, Hartington-Newcastle would take the lead, after the Flyers had led for close to 25 minutes in the game. Heitman would dish the ball to Sam Harms in the paint, and Harms would go up for a layup with three Flyers around him, making the basket to give HNS a 49-48 lead with 30 seconds left in the game.

Timeout @H_NWildcats with 12.5 seconds left after two quick lead changes! HSF leads 50-49#NebPreps pic.twitter.com/wnyexi7ZBe

— Northeast Nebraska Sports (@NENebraskaSport) December 12, 2018

Humphrey St. Francis worked the ball into the paint for a layup of their own to retake the lead 50-49 and Hartington-Newcastle took a timeout with 12 seconds left on the clock.

The Flyers defense forced a jump ball on the inbound, and Pfeifer was fouled and sent to the line with just over ve seconds left. Pfeifer missed the free throw, and Hartington-Newcastle had one last chance to win.

Lincoln McPhillips grabbed the rebound off of the free throw, he threw the ball to Matthew Meisenheimer in the high post. A quick pass from Meisenheimer to Shaye Morten set up the Wildcats with a deep shot for the win. The shot fell short as the buzzer sounded and Humphrey St. Francis held on.

Humphrey St. Francis forces a jump ball and sends Pfeifer to the line. He misses the first free throw and give @H_NWildcats a chance with five seconds left, but @smorten1's shot falls just short #NebPreps pic.twitter.com/WTSqSdM3Nm

— Northeast Nebraska Sports (@NENebraskaSport) December 12, 2018

The loss was the fourth straight for Hartington-Newcastle, putting the Wildcats at 0-4 on the season.
“We are doing more and more right things to earn a victory that just hasn’t been fully validated for us yet, “ Hasselhost said. “Tonight we were one point short, but I’m confident going forward.”

Hartington-Newcastle traveled to Walthill Friday. The team then hosted Allen on Monday and Osmond on Tuesday.

HSF 12 20 7 11 - 50

HNS 10 8 17 14 - 49

SCORING

HNS- Shaye Morten, 16; Lincoln McPhillips, 11; Sam Harms, 11; Jake Peitz, 4; Matthew Meisenheimer, 4; Kobe Heitman, 3.

REBOUNDS

HNS- Lincoln McPhillips, 9; Sam Harms, 5; Jake Peitz, 3; Dylan Dendinger, 3; Kobe Heitman, 6; Shaye Morten, 2; Ethan Lammers, 1; Matthew Meisenheimer, 1.

ASSISTS

HNS - Kobe Heitman, 6; Dylan Dendinger, 3; Lincoln McPhillips, 2; Sam Harms, 2; Shaye Morten, 2; Matthew Meisenheimer, 1; Jake Peitz, 1. STEALS HNS- Kobe Heitman, 3; Lincoln McPhillips, 2; Sam Harms, 2; Shaye Morten, 2; Matthew Meisenheimer, 1; Dylan Dendinger, 1.

BLOCKS

HNS - Sam Harms, 1.

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