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BANCROFT - The Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats fell one game short of its first state tournament berth since 2019 here in the District D1-3 Final, 64-47 in Bancroft Mar. 1.
The ‘Cats won the D1-7 Sub-District title earlier in the week with a win over Walthill, 61-47 in the opening round and a 54-47 win over Creighton in the championship game, both games were played on Hartington- Newcastle’s home court.
In the game against the Panthers, the teams played even through the first quarter with the Panthers posting a narrow 12-11 advantage at the end of frame one.
Bancroft-Rosalie came out firing in the second period, however.
“They came into the game as a great shooting team and they did just that,” said Hartington-Newcastle coach, Tylor Fincher. “When I look back on our season, I think how much we improved and that we were playing our best at the end of the season.”
By the halftime huddle, the Panthers went in front 34-25 then added another four points to the lead at the end of the third.
B-R outscored the Wildcats 12-8 in the final eight minutes and Hartington-Newcastle’s fate was sealed by the 17-point deficit.
Austin Sudbeck put in 14 points in the contest to pace the Wildcats, Cole Rosener tossed in 10 , Brayden Lammers added eight, Mason Krause had seven and Carter Kelly chipped in six.
Lammers grabbed eight rebounds, Sudbeck recorded seven. Cole Rosener handed out three assists.
The ‘Cats got defensive in the second half of the sub-district final with the Bulldogs.
“Creighton could not miss in the first half,” said Fincher. “I felt we played good defense and they were making tough shots.”
The Bulldogs got out to 13-12 lead at the end of the first quarter then increased it to 32-24 by the intermission.
Hartington-Newcastle got it going from there and it resulted in the Wildcats catching Creighton early in the final frame before coming away with the seven-point win to move on to the district final.
“Our defense in the second half really locked in and we took control of the game,” said Fincher. “It was great to see our boys face some adversity and fight their way out.”
Sudbeck continued his great postseason play with 15 points. Lammers added 14 including an 8-for-10 performance from the foul line and Cole Rosener tacked on 10.
In the first post-season game, the ‘Cats went up three at the end of the first half and added four to the advantage after three against the Blujays.
Hartington-Newcastle doubled the lead in the final eight minutes and came away with the win.
Sudbeck and Cole Heimes led the Wildcat offensive attack with 15 points apiece.
Cole Rosener also had a solid night, as he chipped in with 10 points. Ayden Rosener and Mason Krause tossed in six each.
“I hope getting to a District final can help motivate the younger kids to really work so they can have these same experiences and achieve their goals,” the coach said. “The future is bright for HNS.”
Bancroft-Rosalie now advances to next week’s D1 State Tournament where they are expected to be the third seed.
DISTRICT D1-3 FINAL
H-N (10-15) 11 14 14 8 - 47 B-R (21-4) 12 22 18 12 - 64 HARTINGTON-NEWCASTLE: Cole Heimes 1-8 0-0 2; Austin Sudbeck 6-12 2-5 14; Will Feilmeier 0-1 0-0 0; Carter Kelly 2-5 1-2 6; Cole Rosener 4-15 0-0 10; Ayden Rosener 0-1 0-2 0; Brayden Lammers 4-8 0-0 8; Mason Krause 3-7 1-1 7.
CLASS D1-7 SUB-DISTRICT
CRE (8-17) 13 19 6 9 - 47 H-N (10-15) 12 12 13 17 - 54 HARTINGTON-NEWCASTLE: Heimes 2-7 1-5 7; Sudbeck 7-15 0-1 15; Kelly 2-2 1-2 5; Keatyn Arens 0-1 0-2 0; C. Rosener 4-10 2-2 10; A. Rosener 1-1 0-0 3; Lammers 3-10 8-10 14; Krause 0-2 0-2 0.
WAL (7-15) 11 10 15 11 - 47 H-N (10-15) 11 13 19 18 - 61 HARTINGTON-NEWCASTLE: Heimes 5-16 1-1 15; Sudbeck 7-16 0-1 15; Kelly 0-2 2-8 2; C. Rosener 3-12 4-4 10; A. Rosener 1-4 4-6 6; Lammers 2-7 1-6 5; Krause 3-5 0-2 6.
