Omaha Concordia blasted the Fort Calhoun boys basketball team Thursday during the Class C1 Subdistrict 3 final, 59-34.
Had the Pioneers not already won 19 games — had they not won tight games and blowouts — their season could have been done there. But it wasn't.
Based on a season's worth of work on the court, coach TJ O'Connor's 19-5 squad moved onto the district finals for the third time in four years.
“There's nothing wrong with that,” he said. “We earned that.”
FCHS was scheduled to play Gordon-Rushville in Broken Bow on Monday with the winner moving onto the C1 state tourney. An updat about the Pioneers district final is available at enterprisepub.com/sports.
Last Thursday, though, Fort Calhoun's lone lead against Concordia was 4-3.
Grayson Bouwman knocked down two free throws and Carsen Schwarz netted an inside bucket during the first period of Thursday's subdistrict final on the Mustangs' home floor.
From there, though, the Pioneers' host dominated.
“They've got a heck of a ball club,” O'Connor said. “They've got big boys and they've also got real athletic guards.”
Early on, those Mustang guards shot and missed from long range. Offensive rebounds, however, extended their possessions.
“I thought they got some second-chance points on us there early,” O'Connor said. “And, then, I think we kind of lost their shooters early. We just kind of dug ourselves a hole that we couldn't quite get out of.”
Concordia made three first-quarter 3s and led 18-8 at the end of 8 minutes. Schwarz had six points, but the Pioneers struggled to score against the Mustangs' length.
Then, during the second period, Zac Kulus got hot. The senior Mustang made three shots from beyond the arc and finished the quarter with 13 points. His team led 37-13 at halftime and FCHS never quite recovered.
The closest the Pioneers got to momentum against the Mustangs came during a 7-0 start to the fourth period. Bouwman capped it with a 3-point make of his own, but Calhoun still trailed 50-30. He and Schwarz led Calhoun with 10 points apiece, while Zane Schwarz had six.
