Like the Trenton game, Northeast Nodaway's boys could not buy a stop against Elwood in the losers bracket game in the South Harrison Tournament last Wednesday. But unlike the Trenton game, Northeast was able to get their shots to go in. Since they were struggling defensively against an explosive Elwood squad that they will face again in Platte Valley Conference play, the only way they could win against the Panthers was to keep scoring. And Bryce Farnan's 3-point shot with 48 seconds left gave them the 75-74 win; the Bluejays would go on to get the one stop they needed most to escape with the win.
Both Bryce Farnan and Tyler Davis got going early against the Elwood squad that has nobody over six feet listed on the roster. Farnan opened the scoring with an inside shot, followed by a pair of inside shots from Davis that put Northeast up 6-2. Farnan followed with a drive to the basket and drew the foul; he missed the free throw, but Colby Wiederholt was there for the putback. Davis followed with a free throw following a Northeast steal and the Bluejays were up 11-4.
Elwood began making use of their speed as Bryson Wilson and Blaine Wilson both got behind the Northeast defense to cut it to 11-8, but Colby Wiederholt got the hot hand as he scored on another putback, a fast break, and a pair of free throws. Blaine Wilson countered with a free throw, but Wiederholt got a drive to the basket to put Northeast up 19-9 at the 1:52 mark. But Bryson Wilson, who can light things up from NBA range, connected on a 3-pointer to spark an Elwood run towards the end of the first quarter. Damien Shaffer followed with a shot from the left side; later, Bryson's second three-pointer of the quarter cut Northeast's lead to three before Colby Wiederholt's drive down the left wing with nine seconds left put Northeast back up 23-18 after one quarter.
Tyler Davis opened the second quarter with a 3-point play and then Wiederholt's crive and Bryce Farnan's inside shot following a high-low pass from James Burns put Northeast up 34-25 at the 5:15 mark. But then Keyton Harrington got a steal and drive to break the run and then the two teams settled into a stretch where neither side could stop each other. Northeast could not stop the quicker Panther squad while Elwood had no answer for Northeast getting the ball into their three post players at will. The teams traded buckets for most of the remainder of the second quarter until Keegon Harrington got a steal with 34 seconds left to cut Northeast's lead to 43-40. Colby Wiederholt was fouled after a scramble and he made one of two free throws to put Northeast up 44-40 at the half.
Elwood came out of the gates in the third quarter hoping to duplicate Trenton's feat and turn the tables. Josh Wideman hit a 3-pointer for Northeast from the left baseline to put Northeast up 47-42 early, but Elwood began working the ball into Keegon Harrington inside, and he had a personal 5-0 run to tie the game up at 47. But Northeast was not going away as they slowed the game down and began showing more patience on offense instead of trying to get into a track meet with the Panthers. Bryce Farnan scored from inside to break the tie; Aaron Patton hit a 3-pointer from the right baseline, which seemed to open up the inside for Northeast. Tyler Davis converted a 3-point play following a long possession; inside shots from Bryce Farnan and Davis gave Northeast its biggest lead of the game at 59-47 at the 2:41 mark of the third.
But then Elwood switched to a press and got right back in the game; Bryson Wilson started the run by converting a 3-point play. That sparked a 12-2 Elwood run that made it 61-59 at the end of three as Northeast began having some of the same sort of lapses that cost them against Trenton. Davis opened the scoring for Northeast with an inside shot to make it 63-59 and Northeast went to the 1-3-1 that worked against Trenton, but Blaine Wilson got a driving layup and then Bryson Wilson followed with consecutive steals to give Elwood its first lead of the game at 65-63. After the teams traded buckets, Elwood got the ball back with under five minutes left with a chance to make it a two-possession game, but Bryce Farnan took a charge.
Free throws by Desmond Davis and a fast break by Blaine Wilson when Northeast overextended trying to get the ball back put Elwood up 71-68 at the 2:08 mark, but Tyler Davis got hammered and got on the line. He made the first and missed the second, but Bryce Farnan was there for the putback to tie it at 71. After the teams traded free throws, Keyton Harrington got a driving layup with 1:05 left to put Elwood up 74-72 with 1:05 left, but Bryce Farnan hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to put Northeast up 75-74 with 48 seconds left.
In a frantic high-scoring game, the defenses took over during the last seconds of the game. First, Elwood, trying to attack the time, lost it on a turnover with 24 seconds left as James Burns knocked it out off an Elwood player. Then, Northeast could not break the Elwood press and Colby Wiederholt threw away a pass with 14 seconds that gave Elwood a chance to win it. Elwood tried to work the right baseline, but Josh Wideman knocked the ball away from Bryson Wilson and out of bounds with 5 seconds left. Elwood inbounded the ball underneath the basket and they threw it up top to try and set up a drive down the middle for the game-winning shot. But they fumbled the ball around at the top of the key and Keyton Harrington's off-balance 12-footer at the buzzer was well short of the mark.
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