The Fort Calhoun boys basketball team survived a tight Class C1 Subdistrict 3 Tournament game with Douglas County West on Tuesday, advancing to face their top-seeded hosts — the Omaha Concordia Mustangs.
The subdistrict finals game — a rematch of the Pioneers' 53-46 win on Dec. 7 — was set for Thursday. Up-to-date results can be found online at enterprisepub.com/sports.
First, though, coach TJ O'Connor's FCHS team had to hold on over a hectic final 30 seconds Tuesday to beat the Falcons, 44-42.
“Weathered foul trouble,” the coach said.
Ahead 42-40, the Pioneers attempted to run off clock and force a DC West foul. Instead, with 28.3 seconds left to go, they missed an inside shot and unnecessarily fouled a Falcon on their own offensive end.
The DCW player moved from the end line to the charity stripe on the opposite end and made his first free throw, pulling his team within one point. He missed the second, but a teammate came up with the offensive rebound, giving the Falcons a chance to move ahead of Calhoun with a 2-point bucket.
Instead, the Pioneers' Austin Welchert stepped up defensively and made a steal. The guard was fouled with 7.5 seconds left to go and went 1-for-2 from the foul line for a 43-41 advantage.
Needing one last stop, FCHS inadvertently fouled the Falcons again with 4.3 seconds to go. DC West failed to take advantage for a second time, however, going just 1-for-2 from the foul line.
This time, Carsen Schwarz made the opposition pay. With the Pioneers still leading by one point, 43-43, he came down with the rebound. The senior was fouled immediately and made a single free throw before watching the Falcons' final heave miss.
Schwarz led Fort Calhoun with 18 points, while his brother, Zane, scored nine, according to the Concordia Live broadcast. Grayson Bouwman broke the school record for free throws made in a season, too.
O'Connor's team went into Thursday's subdistrict finals game against the Mustangs with a 19-4 season record.
