Hayden Daggett scored the fourth period's first bucket Saturday, giving the hometown Blair boys basketball team a 38-36 lead against Ralston.
It was the last advantage the shorthanded Bears would hold, though.
The Rams (1-1 overall) outscored coach Chris Whitwer's team 14-10 during the final quarter, earning a 50-46 win in BHS' season opener. Lamar Rucker led the visitors with 13 points, while Winner Mutoke added 10.
Blair, however, played without injured returning starters Easton Bosanek and Bo Meier. Instead, it started two freshmen — Kalan Steinbeck and Brevin Leggott — alongside Cooper Sorensen, Daggett and Aidan Slominski.
The starting bunch helped the Bears to a 12-11 advantage through one period. Steinbeck, a 6-foot-4 forward who finished with a team-best 17 points, scored the first bucket before Daggett, Slominski and Leggott all added to BHS' tally.
Coach Whitwer's team led by as many as six points during the second quarter, too, when Colin McCabe turned a steal into a 21-15 advantage. At the end of the period, though, Ralston's Eh Wah made a half-court heave to give the Rams a 26-24 lead going into the break.
The Class B teams battled back-and-forth during the third period, finishing it tied at 36-all. From there, Ralston won the fourth quarter and the game, dropping the Bears to 0-1.
In defeat, Daggett complimented Steinbeck's 17 with 13 points. Andrew Smutny scored six for Blair, too, while Slominski and Leggott added three points apiece. Sorensen and McCabe notched two each as well.
The Bears next compete 7 p.m. today at Waverly in an Eastern Midlands Conference matchup. After that, they start Omaha Gross tournament play 7 p.m. Friday on the Cougars' home floor.
BHS BASKETBALL LINE SCORE
Saturday
Ralston 50, Blair 46
RHS (1-1) 11 15 10 14 — 50
BHS (0-1) 12 12 12 10 — 46
Scoring: BHS — Kalan Steinbeck 17, Hayden Daggett 13, Andrew Smutny 6, Aidan Slominski 3, Brevin Leggott 3, Cooper Sorensen 2, Colin McCabe 2.
RHS — Lamar Rucker 13, Winner Mutoke 10, Eh Wah 9, Marce Holley 8, Conner Brown 4, Bryson Goodman-Sargent 3, Richard Pena 3.
