Eagles clip Raiders in OT

KANSAS - Grant Scherger thought the ball counted for a 3-point shot.The decision didn't land that way as he had one step inside the arc, making it a basket.As a result, fifth-seeded Lakota fell to sixth-seeded Toledo Christian 56-55 in overtime on Friday in Division VI sectional play."We came into the game, we knew it was going to be a battle," Scherger said. "It was competitive and we are the best team that Lakota has had in a long time, so just to be here in the moment with my teammates, great program, and with my family, it's unbelievable."The Raiders (13-10) ended their season on a bit of a high note. After facing Toledo Christian (8-14) for the first time in tournament play, this season marked only the third time since 1999 that the Raiders had won 10 or more games in a season. Last season, they were 10-12, and in 2010, they ended their season 12-7.In program history, they had 10 wins in 1998 and 10-plus wins from 1984-1994, minus one year."We did an incredible job, and I'm so proud of how they fought," Raiders coach Adam Gnepper said. "What they have become is amazing. It came down to a couple of plays down the stretch and they made a couple more than we did. They made some shots, and we didn't, that was it."At the end of regulation, it was 48-all, and it stayed that way until King Beard found himself at the free throw line. He knocked down both to give Lakota a two-point lead.But the Eagles had a response in the form of Josiah Hillrich, who got to the charity stripe 20 seconds later and made it 50-49.Less than a minute later, he slid a bucket through and put Toledo Christian ahead 51-50 with 1:16 left on the clock.On an inbounds pass, Beard got the ball but was fouled by Josiah Michalski, who got his fifth personal foul. But for the trouble, Beard split his pair.A little later with 38.6 left on the clock, Peter French, crowded by Raiders, made a basket.The Eagles then called a timeout with 19.2 seconds remaining, Jake Bade was sent to the free throw line and split his pair, pulling the Eagles ahead 54-51.Kash Beard threw in a basket on a layup, slicing the lead back to one point, 54-53.With no more timeouts, and 10.3 seconds left, Scherger caught the ball on a Hail Mary football throw and tried to shoot it backwards, which it landed as the buzzer sounded.After being down by one in the first quarter, 11-10, the Raiders went on a seven-point run against the Eagles, before Michalski was sent to the free throw line, splitting his pair, making it 17-12.Lakota ballooned its lead out, letting Toledo Christian score one more time with 1:01 left, and the score 24-15.It was 26-15 after an Avery Shilling basket."I thought we were in control most of the game," Gnepper said. "Then we couldn't get away far enough from them, and I really thought the beginning of the third quarter was going to be huge for us, and it was, but we didn't play crisp. We missed layups, we missed shots, we gave up some open 3s, and that turned out to be a big part of the game."Lakota saw the lead evaporate as the Eagles closed in.Later, King Beard knocked down a free throw with 43.8 seconds left. It was only a three-point difference, 37-34."They (Toledo Christian) got back into it," Gnepper said. "And we tried to get the momentum to shift back our way and it just didn't."French had a middle jumper and drilled a 3, making it tied 37-37 heading into the fourth.The Raiders held onto the lead until there was 24.5 seconds remaining and no timeouts left for the Eagles.Toledo Christian had to move, and French nailed another 3 to make it tied 48-48.French was 3-of-6 in three pointers; The Eagles were 10-of-22 three-pointers. Lakota was 4-of-13 three-pointers. The overall leading scorer of the night was King Beard with 19 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Ruger Kelbley with 13 points. For the Eagles, French had 16 points and 13 rebounds with Hillrich following with 14 points.Since Scherger's freshman year, the team has improved leaps and bounds going from a 4-19 record to now a 13-10 record and according to the junior guard, it's been anything but easy."The hard work, the dedication that our coaches put into us, and that we put into the floor, it's unmatched, and I wouldn't want it any other way." said Scherger of the growth of the program.Gnepper started in 2021 as head coach, and this season is the highest he has had since being head coach."It's been a really fun turnaround of the program," Gnepper said. "I told our seniors that they are a huge part of why that happened. They decided to show up and put the time in and they are a huge reason why. We all wish it was a few more but I can't thank them enough for the time and the work they put in." Toledo Christian 56, Lakota 55 OTTOLEDO CHRISTIAN (8-14): Mak Koralewski 3-0-9, Josh Hillrich 5-2-14, Peter French 5-2-16, Jake Bade 2-2-6, Josiah Winkler 1-0-3, Josiah Michalski 3-2-8 TOTALS: 19-8-56LAKOTA (13-10): Avery Schilling 1-6-8, Kash Beard 4-0-8, Jack Widman 2-0-5, King Beard 5-9-19, Ruger Kelbley 4-2-13, Grant Scherger 1-0-2 TOTALS: 17-17-55Toledo Christian 11 4 22 11 8 –56Lakota 10 16 11 11 7 –55Three-Point Goals: Toledo Christian 10 (French 4, Koralewski 3, Hillrich 2, Winkler); Lakota 4 (Kelbley 3, Widman)Rebounds: Toledo Christian 32 (French 13, Hillrich 12); Lakota 36 (King Beard 12)Free Throws: Toledo Christian 8-16; Lakota 17-26Turnovers: Toledo Christian 10; Lakota 12