HAYS — The gym went silent as Brock Ellis hit the court, writhing in pain from an apparent knee injury. It was the first in a chain of events that would ultimately lead to an emotional loss for the Crest High Lancers.
The Lancers lost their Class IA Division I state tournament opener to the Sharon Springs Wildcats Thursday, 72-62, after a hard-fought, controversial and emotional four quarters.
“We didn’t catch a single break today, in shots, calls or otherwise,” head coach Travis Hermreck said.
With four minutes left in the first half, Ellis made a pass and collapsed to the floor. He held his knee on the ground for several minutes, limping off of the court with the help of trainers. By that point, the Wildcats were in the double bonus and the Lancers’ leading scorer, Kyle Hammond, already had four fouls.
Despite the rough first half, the Lancers (17-7) held close to a 41-34 deficit at intermission.
Sharon Springs’ Eli Kuhlman hit first to open the second half, but Jordan Morton quickly responded with a 3-pointer. Hammond hit on a driving floater to the basket, followed by another field goal from Jesse Boone.
Cayden Daily hit a 3-pointer for Sharon Springs, followed by another 3-pointer from his teammate Nate Klinge. The Wildcats had edged their lead to 53-46 with just over one minute left in the quarter.
Then Hammond took over.
He had two driving baskets to end the third, bringing the Lancers to within four.
He hit two more driving baskets to start the fourth, tying the game at 54-all.
Then things started to go south. The quick whistles from the referees had already put the Crest players in foul trouble from the start. Boone was the first victim, fouling out with more than six minutes to play.
Morton hit a long 3-pointer for the Lancers to make the score 58-57 Wildcats.
Kuhlman, red-hot throughout the contest from 3-point range, hit from outside. Hammond then drove to the basket and was called for an offensive foul, to the dismay of Crest fans.
He walked off of the court, having fouled out at the 3:53 mark, as the Lancer fans howled in protest.
Morton was the last Lancer to feel the sting of fouls in the contest; he was called for a technical foul with just under three minutes to play in the game, after being whistled for a blocking foul. Kuhlman hit the first two foul shots for the Wildcats, and Daily went 1 for 2.
The score was 66-57 Wildcats with 2:23 left.
Hunter Frazell drained a 3-pointer for the Lancers to pull them within four. Morton attempted a steal at mid-court and was called for a foul.
He dribbled down the court and put the ball in the basket needlessly, and the referee wasn’t pleased — he called him once again for a technical. The Lancers had lost their fourth starter.
“I want to go on the record by saying that both of the technical calls on Jordan Morton were bogus,” Hermreck said.
Austin Green was the last starter to lead the substitute players on the court. Kuhlman hit the foul shots for the Wildcats to make the score 70-62. Clay Schemm hit once more for Sharon Springs to put the game out of reach.
While emotional, Hermreck could not have been a prouder coach.
“I feel like we won a championship tonight; the guys didn’t roll over once,” he said. “No matter what happens for the rest of the tournament, no other coach will be prouder of their team than I am of my guys right now.”
He said it was a tough loss for all of his players, especially his seniors — Morton, Hammond and Boone.
Hermreck walked over and gave Hammond a hug immediately following his ejection from the game.
“I absolutely love those guys,” Hermreck said. “But I have three heartbroken seniors over there in the locker room.”
Hammond capped his illustrious high school career with 27 points, followed by Morton with 13. Ellis contributed eight points in just a quarter and a half, Green and Boone each had four.
Kuhlman led Sharon Springs with 27 points, 15 from the 3-point line.
Crest (19-15-16-12-62)
Sharon Springs (20-21-13-18-72)
Crest (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Boone 2-0-5-4, Green 1-2-3-4, Morton 3/2-1-7-13, Hammond 10/2-1-5-27, Ellis 4-0-0-8, Frazell 0/1-0-1-3, Godderz 0-0-1-0, Stephens 0/1-0-1-3. TOTALS: 20/6-4-23-62.
Sharon Springs (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Daily 1/1-1-2-6, Schemm 2-2-1-6, Mote 3-6-5-12, Klinge 0/1-6-1-9, Kuhlman 3/5-6-3-27, Gfeller 2-0-1-4, Schemm 3-2-1-8. TOTALS: 14/7-23-14-72.
