Wildcats fall in thriller to Pierce

HARTINGTON — Saturday’s game at the Hartington-Newcastle Gym came right down to the wire.

The Pierce Blue Jays and the Wildcats traded the lead back and forth in the final few minutes of their contest here, but Pierce was able to hang on to earn the 50-47 win.

HNS started the game out strong with a quick 4-0 lead.

Matthew Meisenheimer started the scoring off by hitting 1-2 free throws. Sam Harms then nailed a three-pointer to give the Cats the 4-0 advantage.

It didn’t take long for Pierce to get back into the game, though as Gavin Larson nailed a trey with just over six minutes left in the opening frame.

Another Meisenheimer free throw and a Harms’ rebound and put-back gave the Cats a 7-3 lead.

The Jays then put together a 9-0 run to close out the opening frame and to start the second frame.

A Sam Harms free throw two minutes into the second quarter ended the Wildcat scoring drought and cut the Jays’ lead to four points, 12-8.

The two teams traded free throws to make it 14-10, with three minutes left in the half.

The Jays then started hitting from downtown to extend their lead to 10 points, 22-12. A Shaye Morten lay-in at the buzzer cut the halftime deficit to eight points, 22-14.

Pierce extended its lead to 11 points early in the second half before Dylan Dendinger nailed a trey to make it 25-17.

The Cats then closed out the frame with a 14-12 run to cut the deficit to six points, 37-31, heading into the final frame.

Morten started the final frame with an inside shot to cut the Jays’ lead to four points. Just 90 seconds later, Harms hit a jumper to cut the deficit to just two points, 37-35. With 4:45 left in the game Morten hit another jumper to make it 38-37.

With just over four minutes left in the game, HNS tied the game on a Sam Harms free throw. Pierce regained the lead on a jumper, but Morten quickly hit a jumper of his own to again knot the game, this time at 40-40. At the two minute-mark, Morten took advantage of a bad Pierce pass and drove to the basket for an easy lay up to give the Cats their first lead since the first frame.

Pierce regained the lead on a trey from the corner to give the Jays a 44-42 lead. After a couple of Pierce charity shots, Jake Peitz connected on a three-pointer to pull the Cats within one, 46-45. Two more free throws gave Pierce the 48-45 lead, but the Cats again cut that lead to one. This time Sam Harms had an easy jumper from the paint to make it 48-47 with just nine seconds left. The Cats were again forced to foul to get another shot at the basket, but ran out of time.

Pierce 8 14 15 13- 50 HNS 7 7 17 16- 47

SCORING

HNS - Shaye Morten, 19; Sam Harms, 17; Jake Peitz, 3; Isaac Bruning, 3; Dylan Dendinger, 3; Matthew Meisenheimer, 2. Pierce -

REBOUNDS

HNS - Sam Harms, 9; Shaye Morten, 4; Matthew Meisenheimer, 2; Dylan Dendinger, 1; B Sievers, 1.

ASSISTS

HNS - Shaye Morten, 4; Sam Harms, 2; Dylan Dendinger, 1; Jake Peitz, 1.

STEALS

HNS - Shaye Morten, 3; Jake Peitz, 3; Dylan Dendinger, 1;