Kewpies’ season ends

Having a chance to make the final basket to advance your team in postseason play is what basketball players dream about. Making that crucial free throw or desperately throwing up the 3-pointer at the buzzer are practiced repeatedly in the back yard. But if you miss, the season is over.

Both the Hickman and Helias boys basketball teams had a chance to win the game in the last 3.2 seconds with the game tied at 37 on Thursday night in their Class 5, District 10 semifinal game at James L. Rackers Fieldhouse in Jefferson City.

Helias senior guard Scott Miller was fouled and needed a free throw to take the lead. He not only made one, but two. The Kewpies then rushed down the court, and senior forward Byron Bundy forced a near 25-foot shot to win the game, only to have it fall short in a 39-37 Hickman loss.

After the miss, Bundy fell to the ground and was comforted by Miller, who led the Crusaders with 12 points.

“I know how he feels. That was us last year,” said Miller, who will play in his first district championship game ever. “He’s a great player, and I wanted to tell him congratulations on a good year.”

The Crusaders (20-2) controlled the pace for the majority of the game and came out strong, dominating the boards and entering halftime with a stunning 19-9 lead. They prevented the Kewpies (15-12) from getting the ball down low, which held Hickman to its lowest point total of the year.

Kewpies coach Kenny Ash was disappointed with how his team performed in the first half.

“We were stagnant offensively and defensively,” Ash said. “We just passed the ball around and turned it over quite a bit, and just looked at their defense like it was something we’ve never seen before.”

The only Hickman players to score in the first half were seniors C.J. Ely and Josh Elam, who finished the game with 14 points.

The Kewpies, known as a second half team, came out strong after halftime and went on a 14-2 run, highlighted by two steals by Elam that resulted in fast break points.

“You can never count this group out. Everybody on the team is a competitor. I never counted us out,” Elam said.

But the Kewpies struggled in the first half, shooting 1-for-7 from the free-throw line.

“We didn’t come out and play hard,” Elam said. “That’s basically how you can sum it up.”