GREAT BEND – Josh Gooch left the decision up to his players.
With Tribune-Greeley County trailing Hanover by two with 11 seconds left in Saturday's Class 1A Division II state championship game, Gooch asked his Jackrabbits during a timeout if they wanted to go for the dagger.
" 'Do you wanna go for the tie, or go for the win?' " Gooch said. "The senior, Cade Mangan, said, 'The win.'
"I said, 'Yes. That's what we're doing."
Once that was decided, there no question who was going to take the shot.
Freshman sharpshooter Lincoln Shafer buried a 3-pointer from the corner in the closing seconds to send the Jackrabbits to a heart-pounding 56-55 win over the defending champion Wildcats at Barton Community College.
"I threw it up and looked at it, and it looked good," Shafer said before pandemonium ensued as the Jackrabbits mobbed Shafer. "I didn't know what was going on, what was happening. But it went in."
The shot went through the net with about 3 seconds left. Hanover got a timeout in with a second left but a desperation heave had no chance as the Jackrabbits secured its third state championship in program history.
Gooch said that he wanted to use Jaxson Brandl, who capped off a tremendous state tournament showing with a 31-point night, as a decoy of sorts on the Jackrabbits' final play. Brandl was instructed for a screen for Shafer as he moved to the corner.
The Jackrabbits (24-2) worked the ball to the left wing to Yarieth Yanez. Shafer took the pass from Yanez and gathered and fired in rhythm.
"He caught it clean and once it left his hands I knew it had a chance to go in," Brandl said. "It looked good the whole time."
Greeley County coach Josh Gooch takes everything in after his team's 56-55 win over Hanover in the Class 1A Division II title game.
Shafer, who hit two big fourth-quarter 3s in the semifinal win against Northern Valley, went 11 of 27 from behind the arc in the tournament. He was two 3-pointers shy of the 1A tournament record, ironically held by Greeley County's Shea Stewart, who hit 13 during the Jackrabbits' championship run in 2011.
"When he shot it, I knew it was in. He can shoot the lights out," Brandl said.
Hanover coach Cory Jensen said the Wildcats were prepared to use one of their fouls to give in the closing moments, but they didn't have opportunity as the Jackrabbits' used quick ball movement to open the corner 3. Still, there was a defender in the area when Shafer caught in the corner.
"We were in good position. It was a contested shot," Jensen said. "They just hit it."
The game featured seven ties and nine lead changes. Hanover led 54-50 with under two minutes left before a Brandl 3 brought the Jackrabbits with a point.
Philip Doebele made one of two free throws with 1:24 left to put Hanover up two. The Jackrabbits came up empty on two possessions before a missed free throw by the Wildcats with 13 seconds left the door open for the end-game heroics.
Lincoln Shafer shoots a 3 during Greeley's County championship game win over Hanover.
Hanover (24-2) went 6 of 17 from the foul line and went 2 of 6 from the line in the fourth quarter.
"I think that was the key," Jensen said. "I thought we played pretty good defense; that Brandl kid is a really good player. You can't go 6 of 17 for the free throw line and expect to win a big game like this."
Brandl, a junior forward, found success attacking the high post of the Hanover zone. He finished 14 of 21 from the field and added 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals.
"At first I was a little bit nervous, because they were pretty big," said Brandl. "But as the game kept going I got used to it and I wasn't scared. It just came to me naturally."
He averaged 25.3 points in the tournament.
"That's what he's known for – getting his points and doing what he does best."
Brandl was just a good on the defensive end, notching five steals to help create some big buckets in transition for the Jackrabbits.
"Whenever they have the ball, sometimes I just tell myself, 'I need to get a steal. Every time, I need to get a steal.' "
"He just his a knack to know where that ball is going," Gooch said of Brandl. "It's just his sneakiness and his IQ. He's a fun player to watch, especially now that he has a mindset to it. Before he had the athleticism but he would kind of step back when it got tough. But now, this whole year, he's really stepped into it and been more of the aggressor."
Greeley County's Jaxson Brandl scored 31 points in the title game.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 7-0 lead and built a 19-10 advantage before Greeley County knotted it up with a 9-0 run. From there, neither team gained much separation. It was tied at 33 at halftime and Greeley County led 44-43 at the end of the third.
Hanover's Josh Zarybnicky scored all 15 of his points in the first half, including 11 in the first quarter. He grabbed 12 rebounds to record a double-double along with Doebele (11 points and 11 rebounds). Keagan Dimler chipped in 12.
The Wildcats will lose four senior starters – Doebele, Dimler, Emmitt Jueneman and Braelen Stallbaumer. They helped Hanover go 47-3 over the last two seasons with a 1A Division I title last year.
"I'm just really proud of these senior boys," Jensen said, fighting back tears. "I love them. I'm going to miss them."
The large contingent of Greeley County fans gathered with the team in the Barton County practice gym after the game to celebrate the title. The Jackrabbits returned to the court after the girls' title game to cut down the nets.
"Lot of hugs," said Shafer, who scored 12 points. "It's just crazy to believe that I hit that shot and we won state."
"It's overwhelming," Brandl added.
Gooch said the championship hadn't yet sunk in.
"It will sink in probably in a day or two, I don't know," Gooch said. "There's not many people in the community right now. They're all right here (at the game). We own a grocery store back home. There's probably two people there, and it's my employees, there's nobody else.
"It's just very surreal. It won't sink in for a while."
Greeley County players celebrate follwing a 56-55 win over Hanover in the Class 1A Division II title game.
NORTHERN VALLEY 84, BUCKLIN 79, OT
Six Huskies reached double figures to help Northern Valley outlast Bucklin in the boys' third-place game.
Bailey Sides scored a team-high 21 points and had 11 assists. Drew Schemper and Kenton Thalheim finished with 13 and 12, respectively, while Eric Loya, Jeremiah Hansen and Foster Brands scored 10 points each for Northern Valley (23-3). Schemper grabbed 13 rebounds for a double-double.
Scott Price poured in 33 points for Bucklin and was joined in double figures by Jaron Lindsay (13), Nathan Bowman (10) and Garin Stimpert (10). Price also had 7 steals, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Bowman dished out 10 assists to record a double-double.
Bucklin ended its best season in school history with a 20-7 record. The Red Aces picked up their first state tournament win in program history in Wednesday's quarterfinal win against Caldwell.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
TRIBUNE-GREELEY COUNTY 56, HANOVER 55
Greeley County 15 18 11 12 – 56
Hanover 19 14 10 12 – 55
Greeley County (24-2) -- Shafer 4-13 0-0 12, Mangan 1-4 0-0 3, Sherer 1-3 0-0 2, Martinez 0-2 0-0 0, Brandl 14-21 3-4 31, Yanez 2-4 0-0 4, Schneider 1-2 0-0 2, Villalobos 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-52 0-1 56.
Hanover (24-2) -- Dimler 5-14 1-3 13, Zarybnicky 7-12 0-0 15, E. Jueneman 3-6 3-8 9, Stallbaumer 0-1 0-0 0, Doebele 4-6 2-4 11, C. Jueneman 1-1 0-0 2, C. Bruna 2-3 0-2 5. Totals 22-43 6-17 55.
3-point goals – Greeley County 8-22 (Shafer 4-11, Brandl 3-4, Mangan 1-3, Yanez 0-2), Hanover 5-19 (Dimler 2-7, Zarybnicky 1-4, Doebele 1-2, Bruna 1-2, Jueneman 0-3, Stallbaumer 0-1). Rebounds – Greeley County 22 (Brandl 8), Hanover 30 (Zarbynicky 12). Assists – Greeley County 13 (Mangan 5, Brandl 5). Hanover 6 (Jueneman 3). Total fouls – Greeley County 16, Hanover 9. Fouled out – Sherer.
CONSOLATION GAME
ALMENA-NORTHERN VALLEY 84, BUCKLIN 79
Northern Valley 15 26 17 17 9 – 84
Bucklin 20 17 16 22 4 – 79
Northern Valley (23-3) -- Thalheim 4-6 2-2 12, Sides 7-16 6-6 21, Loya 3-7 2-5 10, Hansen 4-11 2-2 10, Brands 3-9 4-7 10, Cox 0-0 0-0 0, Preston 3-4 2-7 8, Schemper 6-9 1-2 13, Rudd 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-62 19-31 84.
Bucklin (20-7) -- N. Bowman 3-14 4-8 10, Lindsay 4-10 5-6 13, A. Bowman 1-4 1-2 3, Price 9-23 12-16 33, Stimpert 3-4 2-2 10, Stein 1-2 1-2 3, Cook 1-6 2-2 5, Kirk 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 23-66 27-38 79.
3-point goals – Northern Valley 5-18 (Loya 2-5, Thalheim 2-4, Sides 1-4, Preston 0-1, Hansen 0-4), Bucklin 6-28 (Price 3-11, Stimpert 2-2, Cook 1-5, N. Bowman 0-7, Kirk 0-2). Rebounds – Northern Valley 52 (Schemper 13), Bucklin 38 (Price 7). Assists – Northern Valley 18 (Sides 11), Bucklin 15 (Bowman 10). Total fouls – Northern Valley 28, Bucklin 27. Fouled out – Thalheim, Hansen, Brands, Lindsay, A. Bowman.