Boys put scare in No. 2 Cougars

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Gross (15-7)         12 12 18 25 67
Platteview (8-13)   6   9 27 21 63

Game Stats

Midway through the fourth quarter Class B No. 2 Omaha Gross was in trouble, and unranked Platteview had the Cougars on the ropes in their fight to reach the finals of the B-2 district boys basketball tournament.

Platteview tied the game twice in the midst of a 3-point barrage that included seven straight field goals from behind the arc, but the Cougars' Jared Warner's 3 with 3:05 to play gave his team the lead for good as Gross held off the Trojans for a breathtaking 67-63 win.

Gross jumped out to an early 12-2 lead as Platteview missed a handful of easy shots to open the game. A pair of baskets by senior Gage Wichman closed out the first quarter with the Trojans trailing 12-6.

The top-seeded Cougars threatened to turn the game at Omaha Northwest into a rout in the second period after scoring the first 10 points. Platteview finally scored on senior David Negrete's driving layup with 2:33 left in the half, and the Trojans finished strong and trailed 24-15 at the break.

Halftime proved to be productive for Platteview. The Trojans came out of the locker room and exploded for 27 third-quarter points to forge a 42-42 tie heading into the final period.

"We told the guys at halftime that they played a decent first half with the score differential attributed to our missed shots," commented Platteview coach John Stanton. "We adjusted a bit on offense and the kids responded with that great third quarter scoring output."

Seven Trojans got in on the third-quarter scoring act. Wichman and junior Justin Meyer each scored eight. Meyer hit a pair of 3s from the same spot on the floor to cap a 10-0 run and push Platteview briefly ahead 40-36.

Heimes and Gross' Warner put on a show in the fourth quarter. During a 3-minute stretch in the middle of the period the pair combined for 22 points as both teams battled back and forth. Each hit two 3-pointers on four straight possessions.

Gross emerged with a 61-58 lead then kept the Trojans at bay over the final 2˝ minutes to hang on for the win.

Heimes scored 14 of his team-high 21 points in the final eight minutes. The 6-8 Warner dominated the fourth quarter by scoring 20 of his game-high 34 points from all over the floor.

"Kudos to Warner for the game he had," Stanton said. "They took advantage of what we were doing with our match-up zone, and the big boy came through for them."

Gross shot 50 percent from the floor and Platteview 49. Both teams hit eight 3s on the night and committed just 10 turnovers. The difference came at the free throw line.

Gross went to the line 21 times and made 11, while the Trojans attempted just eight free throws and made five.

Senior Andy Elliff closed out his career with an 11-point night. Justin Meyer scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

Platteview's senior players combined for 52 points in their final game, and Stanton credited them for their contributions toward getting the Trojans back on a winning track. The group helped produce 16 wins the past two seasons, after Platteview won just 19 games the previous five years.

"We’ll miss this senior group," Stanton said about his departing players. "They played a lot of varsity minutes over the past three years. I hope the guys who will step up to varsity next year were taking good notes."


GAME STATS (Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Blocked Shots)

Elliff 11, 1, 2, 2, 0
Gilleland 6, 0, 0, 0, 0
Glasshoff 0, 2, 0, 0, 0
Heimes 21, 3, 2, 0, 0
Herrmann 2, 1, 0, 5, 0
Meyer 10, 6, 2, 0, 1
Negrete 5, 1, 1, 0, 0
Wichman 8, 5, 5, 1, 4
Wills 0, 0, 2, 0, 0

Totals 63, 19,14, 8, 5