It's a 45-mile drive from Fort Calhoun to Conestoga High School.
The ninth-ranked Pioneers made the trip for Saturday's Nebraska Capitol Conference (NCC) Boys Basketball Tournament title game against No. 1 Ashland-Greenwood. They had that road time to fill.
“I think it'll just be guys getting locked in, getting prepared,” FCHS senior Owen Newbold said the night before, minutes after his team's semifinals victory.
“I think we're going to be ready to go,” junior Austin Welchert added.
The Pioneers (13-4 overall) were, giving the top-ranked Bluejays (14-1) a four-quarter battle for the NCC crown. Ashland won, but by their smallest margin over a Class C1 team this season, 57-49.
“Think we needed some better offensive possessions,” Calhoun coach TJ O'Connor said after the Bluejays won the fourth period 16-8. The championship game was tied 41-all after three quarters. “Gave them a few too many points off of turnovers.”
All the same, the coach felt his Pioneers played their tails off.
“Was proud of them,” he said.
FCHS built a 32-28 halftime lead with a 24-point second period. Zane Schwarz and Grayson Bouwman, who each finished with 15 points, combined for 17 over those 8 minutes.
After falling behind 13-8 through one quarter, the Pioneers claimed a tie with Ashland at 22-22 when Schwarz knocked down a 3-pointer.
Bouwman's two second-quarter 3s, meanwhile, gave Calhoun 25-24 and 28-27 leads.
The Pioneers' advantage reached its height during the third period when another Schwarz make from beyond the arc put coach O'Connor's squad out front, 41-35.
From there, though, Ashland scored the next eight points and led until the end at Conestoga High School.
“Need to get back to work Monday,” O'Connor said after FCHS' 2-1 NCC Tournament run.
FCHS earns spot
Balance beat a Brody Travis breakout Friday during the NCC semifinals at Fort Calhoun High School.
Five Pioneers scored in double figures as coach O'Connor's squad topped Douglas County West for a second time this season, 69-60. Travis hit six 3-pointers and had 41 points for the Falcons, but FCHS knocked down 14 fourth-quarter free throws to advance into Saturday's championship game.
“I was just thinking, 'It's a normal free throw,'” Newbold said after shooting 6-for-8 from the line. “'Just treat it as a normal free throw and it will go in just like in practice.'”
The senior scored 12 points, while Bouwman led the Pioneers' way with 19. Carsen Schwarz added 17 points, Zane Schwarz scored 11 and Austin Welchert notched 10.
Arguably Fort Calhoun's biggest bucket of the semifinals' win, however, was a fourth-period 3-pointer. The Pioneers led by as many as seven points in the second half, but the Falcons pulled within 48-47 just before Welchert let one fly from beyond the arc.
“I didn't even really know that we were only up by one,” the junior admitted after the game. “I was so focused on the game and I was just open, so I took the shot.”
He made it, too, kicking off a 10-0 FCHS run that all but clinched the Pioneers' spot in the NCC title game.
“I just knew I had to hit some shots,” Welchert said.
The scoring streak and foul line success was enough to win — even on a night when a Falcon scored 41.
