AINSWORTH —The Wynot Blue Devil boys basketball team earned a lopsided 74-34 District championship game win over Hay Springs here Monday.
The win gives Wynot a berth in next week’s Class D2 State Tournament and a chance to improve upon last year’s state runner-up finish.
Wynot got out front early, dropping in 25 first-quarter points, while limiting the western Nebraska team to just nine. The Hawks were only able to manage three points until they finally started hitting with just over two minutes left in the opening frame.
Wynot coach Lee Heimes said his team was laser focused on getting the job done Monday.
“We came out here tonight and took care of what we needed to do to get back to state, now we need to finish this deal off.”
Andrew Haberman had the hot hand early on, canning eight early points.
The Wynot defense continued to cause problems for the Hawks in the second frame, limiting them to just eight second-quarter points. Wynot hit for 15 to take a 40-17 lead into the halftime break.
The Blue Devils were able to use their bench in the constest as the continuous clock was put into play as they stretched their lead even further in the second half “We wanted to keep pressure on the ball and get out and run,” Heimes said. “For the most part we did that.”
WALTHILL — The Wynot Blue Devils and the Walthill Blue Jays battled down to the wire in Thursday’s SubDistrict championship game.
The game went back and forth until the final minutes before the Blue Jays were able to earn the 51-48 decision.
Four-for-four freethrow shooting by Walthill’s Ethan Parker sealed the win for the Blue Jays as they got revenge of a regular season loss to the Blue Devils.
Wynot was led by their go-to man, Dylan Heine, who hit a trio of treys on his way to 16 points.
Kotner Koch helped the Blue Devils’ cause and finished with 10 points as well.
Walthill got a huge game from Adrian Phillips as he poured in 26 points to lead all scorers. Ehan Parker also hit for 12 points to go along with his fourth quarter heroics.
In the opening quarter Wynot got 5 points from Zack Foxhoven and a bucket each by Dylan Heine and Carson Wieseler. Walthill’s Adrian Phillips started off hot connected for 9 quick points and Ethan Parker hit for 5 points as the Blue Jays held the early 13-10 lead.
In the second quarter the two teams traded baskets. Dylan Heine, Carson Wieseler and Kotner Koch all drained three pointers for the visiting Blue Devils.
Walthill got six more points from Adrian Phillips and a three pointer from Kelan Kaaihue to maintain the 24-21 halftime advantage.
Wynot would rally in the third quarter lead by Dylan Heine’s nine-point effort as the Blue Devils went on a 16-10 run. Wynot held the 3734 lead going into the final quarter.
The tight battle continued in the final quarter. Heine hit a pair of treys on his way to nine points in the crucial final period.
Walthill would counter with six more points from Adrian Phillips and a trey by Hugo Parker as the game was tied at 47-47 with a 1:45 to play.
As the clock wound down in the final seconds Ethan Parker would hit 4 straight free throws to give the Blue Jays the 51-48 win.
O’Neill St. Mary’s, Humphrey St. Francis, Elm Creek, Sumner-Eddyville-Miller and Maywood- Hayes Center will join the Blue Devils in the D2 state tournament. The final two spots were to be filled Tuesday night.
Wynot 10 11 16 11 — 48 Walthill 13 11 10 17 — 51 FG 17-47 19-51 3PT 7-28 6-24 FT 6-14 7-8 Reb 28 20 TOs 10 13
SCORING
Wynot- Dylan Heine, 18; Kotner Koch, 10; Zack Foxhoven, 7; Chase Schroeder, 7; Carson Wieseler, 5; Andrew Haberman, 3. Walthill- Adrian Phillips, 26; Ethan Partker, 12; Hugo Parker, 6; Keelan Kaaihue, 3; Keith Morris, 2; Greg Smith, 2.
REBOUNDS
Wynot- Chase Schroeder, 13; Dylan Heine, 6. Walthill-Keith Morris, 5. Hay Springs 9 8 11 6 — 34 Wynot 25 15 18 17 — 74 SCORING
Wynot - Carson Wieseler, 19; Andrew Haberman, 17; Chase Schroeder, 8; Dylan Heine, 6; Cooper Oligmueller, 6; Zack Foxhoven, 5; Justin Heimes, 5; Kotner Koch, 4; Devin Brummer, 3; Killian Steinhaus, 1. HAY SPRINGS (17-7): Dylan Young, 8; Hunter Mc-Donald, 6; Talan Smith, 5; Tripp Buettner, 4; Jordyn Anderson, 4; Gage Mintken, 3; Dustin Brien, 2; Jaron Dahlgren, 2.