Wauneta Breeze

    By Tina Kitt
    The Wauneta Breeze

     For the second time in two weeks a Wauneta-Palisade basketball team faced a squad from Humphrey St. Francis in the semifinal round at the state tournament. And for the second time the Broncs have come up short against the Flyers.
     After watching the Wauneta-Palisade girls fall to the Flyers a week earlier, last weekend Dave Kuhlen's Bronco boys hit the same speed bump in their drive to reach the state championship game.
     HSF, the No. 8 seed going into the tourney with a 13-9 record, knocked off top-seeded Scribner-Snyder, 54-33, to make it to the semifinals. While many pegged HSF as the underdog, Kuhlen said he knew they could hold their own on the floor.
     "Humphrey St. Francis had a lot of losses during the season, but they play what is primarily a C1 schedule," said Kuhlen. "They beat David City Aquinas, which is a division one C1 school. I actually felt Humphrey St. Francis was the favorite over Scribner-Snyder."
     A flat-scoring first quarter and ragged rebounding in the first half helped create the roadblock to Devaney, with the Broncs coming up seven points short of advancing to the championship game as they fell to the Flyers, 70-63.
     With the loss, the Broncs end their season with a final record of 18-5.
     "We've battled two weaknesses all season-rebounding and poor first quarters," said Kuhlen. "It's kind of fitting that we end the season that way."
     In their final state-tourney game, the Broncs lost the battle of the boards, 30-22, grabbing only four rebounds in the first half against HSF's big inside players.
     The Broncs struggled to get their game going at Pershing, where they met HSF for their semifinal matchup.
     In the first eight minutes the Broncs dug themselves into a hole, with the Flyers jumping to an 11-3 lead barely three minutes into the contest. HSF widened that lead to double-digit territory at 19-8 after a 6-0 run late in the quarter.
     After a WP time-out, Marc Klima nailed his second three-pointer on the night to keep the game from breaking wide open, but damage had been done as the Flyers answered back with a trey to close the opening frame, 22-13.
     HSF opened the second quarter with a trey to spread their lead to 25-13 before the Broncs put together a 7-0, 1:27 run with Andrew Isom and Cory Flaig working the paint and Tyler Riener hitting from the arc. Rough play ensued, as Brad Licht and Russell Ridlen took knock-down blows from the big, beefy Flyers.
     HSF pulled away again at 40-26 late in the second quarter, with foul shots by Isom and Klima keeping the Broncs within striking distance at 40-30 going into the half.
     The Broncs came out in the third quarter grabbing steals, as Russell and Trevor Ridlen teamed up to score five points in 13 seconds to pull within seven. During a four and a half minute stretch in the third quarter, the Flyers held the Broncs to two points while knocking down 10 of their own for a 53-40 lead. But with 22 seconds left in the third quarter, R. Ridlen canned a trey for a 55-43 game.
     Down the final eight minute stretch, the Broncs outscored the Flyers, 20-15, with Flaig, Isom and R. Ridlen hitting from the field, and Riener and Isom knocking down foul shots. But with WP forced to stop the clock with fouls, HSF connected on their last four points from the foul line to secure the seven-point win.
     Isom led the Broncs with 17 points and six rebounds. T. Ridlen and Klima added 11 points each. R. Ridlen led in assists with 10 and in steals with five, and had nine points.
     "We were playing our best ball at the last of the season, except for our game with Humphrey St. Francis," said Kuhlen. "They came out ready to play and deserve credit."

    Opening round win
    a first for Bronco boys
     Though they were disappointed with their semifinal loss, the Bronco boys did celebrate their first-ever state basketball tournament win for a Wauneta-Palisade boys team.
     "Overall it's been a great year for these kids, something they can be very proud of," said Kuhlen.
     In their tourney opener against Spencer-Naper, the Broncs pulled away in the 12-10 contest with a 6-0, two minute run to lead 18-13 early in the second quarter. After SN hit a three, the Broncs rallied on a 10-3 run, with Isom, Flaig and T. Ridlen knocking down shots. With 1:06 left in the half, Klima hit a trey and Flaig a deuce to put the Broncs up 33-18.
     Back-to-back treys by the Pirates in the opening minutes of the third quarter spurred a 12-5 SN run as they drew within eight at 38-30. The battle continued with SN pulling within six at 43-37, before a midair putback by Isom at the buzzer gave the Broncs a shot of momentum.
     In the final frame, SN got within five points at 47-42, before four WP foul shots, and a pair of buckets by Flaig, bought the Broncs breathing room. The two teams fought it out down to the wire, scraping on rebounds and pushing the ball upcourt on fastbreaks, with the Broncs coming up with the win, 62-46, closing Spencer-Naper's season at 21-4.
     Isom paced the Broncs with 17 points and nine rebounds. Klima had 14 points and Flaig, 10. T Ridlen led in assists with seven and added seven points. R. Ridlen led in steals with four and added nine points.