Three-pointers by Bo Nielsen and J'Shawn Unger gave the Blair boys basketball team a 21-12 home advantage Tuesday night.
It didn't last for the Bears, who've lost five-straight against top competition.
The Class C1 No. 7 Omaha Concordia Mustangs outscored BHS 46-21 from there, earning a 58-42 win — their 11th of the season. Coach Chris Whitwer's team, meanwhile, fell to 6-8 on the Class of 2023's Senior Night. He said 6-foot-10 post player Quientan McCafferty played a key role in the result.
“We told the kids to stand in there and try to take charges on him because we knew he was going to try to back them down,” Whitwer explained. “And it was just, kind of, the flow of the game. (The referees) let us play physical tonight and that, obviously, benefits a team that has a kid like that on their roster.”
McCafferty, a junior, scored a game-high 20 points for the Mustangs and slowed Blair's ability to score buckets around the rim. The home team took its 21-12 lead, but then watched as Concordia went on an 11-0 run.
The Bears' Greyson Kay, a senior, tied the score at 23-all just before the half, but the Mustangs responded with an 8-0 streak to start the third period. Altogether, the road team scored 19 of the 21 points scored immediately after Unger's 3 gave BHS a nine-point advantage.
“Offensively, we've just got to be able to score the ball,” Whitwer said. “Have to be able to score better, and be decisive and be confident in doing so.”
Kay led the Bears with 11 points in defeat. Freshman Bo Meier had eight and Unger scored seven.
BHS' five-straight losses dating back to Dec. 30 have all come to teams with winning records. Concordia is the second team the Bears have faced with only one loss on the season.
“I respect our guys a lot for their attitudes and the effort they continue to give,” Whitwer said. “They're going to continue to fight.”
Kay and Nielsen were recognized before Tuesday's game as were their senior teammates — Eli Morgan, Nolan Slominski and manager Sam Hicks. Blair's full roster was scheduled to play at Class B No. 4 Crete on Thursday and will next compete during the Eastern Midlands Conference Tournament. First-round conference matchups and dates weren't publicly available as of press time.
BHS BASKETBALL LINE SCORE
Tuesday
No. 7 Omaha Concordia 58, Blair 42
OC (11-1) 9 14 19 16 — 58
BHS (6-8) 13 10 7 12 — 42
Scoring: BHS — Greyson Kay 11, Bo Meier 8, J'Shawn Unger 7, Crayton Macholan 6, Nolan Slominski 4, Easton Bosanek 3, Bo Nielsen 3.
OC — Quientan McCafferty 20, Elliot Wilson 16, Jackson Shepherd 9, Jack Thrasher 8, Carte Sunde 5.
