Warriors survive cold shooting

LINCOLN – It was hardly a finish of beauty, but the Leyton High School boys basketball team will take Thursday morning’s 42-37 victory against Wauneta-Palisade into Friday’s Class D2 semifinals, and has assured itself of earning hardware.

Despite making just 3 of 12 free throws in the fourth period, Gary Oltmann’s Warriors played well enough defensively down the stretch to earn their 22nd win against just one defeat.

“I don’t know if it was the early-morning game or what,” Oltmann said of the game’s 9 a.m. CT start. “We were up at 5:30 a.m., so it wasn’t anything unusual.”

As the tournament’s top seed, Leyton held sway despite engaging trouble on almost every front.

LHS was able to build three cushions, but foul trouble to guard A.W. Frerichs and sixth man Cody McKay put the Warriors on edge.

“We got up six twice, and the second time, we had three straight possessions where we turned the ball over,” Oltmann said. “We had chances to go up 10 to 12 points, but it never happened.”

Even so, Leyton never trailed the eighth-seeded Broncos (13-11) by more than a point, that being twice in the second half, and found itself tied just twice in the second half, that coming early in the fourth period at 33 and 35-all.

The latter tie was broken when leading scorer Sam Schumacher hit a 15-footer in the lane and then followed with a three-point play off an offensive rebound of Brennen Cruise’s missed attempt with 2 minutes, 39 seconds remaining.

“Sam came up big with a couple of 3-pointers for us,” Oltmann said. “Then he got inside and got the big three-point play. That’s what you expect from your senior leader.”

Leyton rebounded a Broncos miss, and Oltmann – with his team ahead 40-35 – called timeout at 1:52. The Warriors then ran time off the clock as W-P fouled LHS into the bonus.

Schumacher made one foul shot inside the final 1:30, stretching the margin to 41-35. After Logan Bischoff, W-P’s leading scorer, shook free for a basket at 25.5 seconds, the lead was cut to 41-37.

However, the Broncos were through scoring, as Leyton forced a turnover into Cruise’s hands following two missed free throws by Schumacher.

Cruise was immediately fouled after making the steal, and he made one of two attempts at 15.6 seconds, to provide the final score.

W-P committed two more floor errors as the game clock wound down, and never got a shot off.

“We were able to execute defensively, but we didn’t shoot very well,” Oltmann said. “Maybe it was the early start.”

Schumacher led all scorers with 20 points, with Cruise adding 13 for the Warriors and Dylan Brenner eight. The Warriors hit 16 of 49 shots from the floor, including 4 of 20 3-point attempts.

The Broncos frustrated the Warriors in the first half with a 2-3 zone, but Leyton was able to snake its way to an 8-2 lead early, before W-P called a timeout.

The reset helped the Broncos, who immediately tied the game with a pair of three-point plays from Wes Anderjaska and Logan Bischoff.

Wauneta-Palisade was able to pick up a pair of leads in the second quarter, but the quarter ended with a Schumacher basket and an 18-17 Leyton lead.

Bischoff, the Broncos’ main interior player, drew three personal fouls in the first half, and Anderjaska kept his team in the game with eight first-half points, which caught the LHS coaching staff’s attention.

Anderjaska finished with 13 points to pace W-P.

“In the three game videos we scouted, that (Anderjaska) shot maybe six times in the three games,” Oltmann said. “He was able to get some shots against us that kept them in the game.”

Leyton will await the second quarterfinal survivor, either Wausa or Spalding Academy, in Friday’s 1 p.m. MT semifinal at Pershing Center.

“We’re assured of getting some hardware,” Oltmann said. “A lot of times, teams from the western part of the state are one and done.”

Leyton 11 7 15 9-42

Wauneta-Palisade 8 9 12 8-37

LEYTON (22-1)

Schumacher 8 2-9 20, Brenner 3 0-1 8, Cruise 5 3-5 13, AWFrerichs 0 0-0 0, Melzer 0 0-1 0, McKay 0 1-4 1, Reimers 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 6-20 42

WAUNETA-PALISADE (13-11)

Bischoff 4 2-3 10, Kayton 4 0-2 8, Pollman 2 0-0 4, McGraw 1 0-0 2, Anderjaska 4 3-3 13, Davis 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-8 37

3-point goals – Leyton 4 (Schumacher 2, Brenner 2), Wauneta-Palisade 2 (Anderjaska). Team fouls – Leyton 13, Wauneta-Palisade 17