• Photo Showcase: Saturday's finals
• Video: Highlights from the Ewing-Hampton game:
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LINCOLN — It’s amazing what an overtime loss at the boys state basketball tournament can do for a team the following year.
Just ask the Ewing Tigers, who used that setback at the 2009 tourney to pave the way for a state title in 2010.
Top-ranked Ewing finished off its season in the only way possible, defeating Hampton 41-33 on Saturday night in the Class D-2 title game at the Devaney Center. The Tigers finish the season 26-1 and can now erase the bitter memory of a one-point overtime loss to Sterling in last year’s final.
“Ever since last year, our goal has been to finish off what we started,’’ Ewing coach Greg Appleby said. “Our guys have been focused all season long.’’
Leading the way for the Tigers — no surprise here — was senior forward Austin Kaczor. He entered the game averaging 27.6 points but had to be content with a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Kaczor scored nine of those 22 points in the first quarter as the Tigers grabbed a four-point lead. Both teams struggled offensively in the first half and Ewing had to be content with a 16-9 lead at intermission.
“We did everything we could on the defensive side,’’ first-year Hampton coach Trevor Hoegh said. “But we just couldn’t find ways to score. We seemed to be short on all of our shots.’’
It probably didn’t help that the sixth-ranked Hawks were pushed to overtime by Hayes Center in a hard-fought 74-66 semifinal game Friday. It also didn’t help that they had to try and slow down Kaczor, who also used last year’s season-ending setback as motivation.
“Losing that game made me sick to my stomach,’’ he said. “Winning state was my only goal all year ... nothing about individual stuff.’’
The Tigers opened up an 11-point lead with six minutes left in the third quarter when Kaczor sank a short jumper. Hampton battled back and closed within three early in the fourth quarter on a steal and dunk by DJ Bamesberger.
But Ewing wasn’t about to let this game slip away, opening up a 10-point advantage with just under three minutes left on a layup by senior center Chad Rokahr. The Tigers then put the game away at the line as Kaczor sank three free throws and Rokahr added two.
Marcus Garrison paced Hampton with 12 points — four 3-pointers — and Bamesberger finished with 11. But it wasn’t enough to stop Ewing from picking up its second title in 20 trips to state.
“I’m just elated that we were able to get this done,’’ Appleby said. “And I feel especially good for our (seven) seniors. They really deserve this.’’
Hampton (23-2)..............................7 2 11 13—33
Ewing (26-1).......................................11 5 9 16—41
• H: DJ Bamesberger 5-12 1-4 11, Marcus Garrison 4-14 0-0 12, Alex Dose 2-7 0-0 4, Carson Klute 1-6 1-3 3, Nathan Mason 1-2 0-0 3, Trey Sebek 0-0 0-0 0, Collin Friesen 0-1 0-0 0, James Jantz 0-0 0-0 0, Levi Bamesberger 0-0 0-0 0, Justin Marchand 0-0 0-0 0, Corbin Fagan 0-0 0-0 0, Griffin Parsley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-42 2-7 33.
• E: Josiah Switzer 0-2 2-6 2, Austin Kaczor 8-12 5-7 22, Chad Rokahr 3-5 2-3 8, Philip Thramer 1-3 0-0 2, Chase Funk 1-3 0-0 3, Mike Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Tad Fry 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Hyde 0-0 0-0 0, Troy Thramer 2-3 0-0 4, Zach Ramold 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-28 9-16 41.
• 3-Point Goals: Hampton 5-19 (Garrison 4-9, Dose 0-4, Klute 0-4, Mason 1-2), Ewing 2-10 (Switzer 0-1, Kaczor 1-5, P. Thramer 0-2, Funk 1-2). Fouled Out: None. Rebounds: Hampton 20 (DJ Bamesberger 7), Ewing 28 (Kaczor 10). Assists: Hampton 6 (Dose, Klute 3), Ewing 10 (P. Thramer 6). Total Fouls: Hampton 16, Ewing 12.
Contact the writer:
444-1350, mike.patterson@owh.com
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