After their win over Minneapolis in the opening round, the Bluejay boys advanced to the semi-final round of the Sub-State tournament in Marysville on Friday, March 3. Their opponent would be an all too familiar foe in the Nemaha Central Thunder, who defeated the Concordia Panthers on the road in the first game of the playoffs.

“It was a tough game on Friday,” said Head Coach Scott Burger. “I have to give credit to Nemaha Central for their game plan and on making shots that night.”

The Thunder scored the first point of the night with a early pair of free throws, but Sabetha’s answer came by way of junior Christian McAfee, who maneuvered into the paint and posted his team’s first 4 points to put the Jays on top. Junior Marcus Bauman had a steal and barreled to the rack. Although the shot fell short, senior Matthew Garber was there to clean it up and score. The Jays led, 6-2.

Senior Davis Rokey, an eight-foot jumper, and senior Nohl Niehues added a pair of free throws to give the Jays a 10-4 lead. Then, Nemaha Central would go on a run and cut the deficit to 2 points. However, Sabetha had two late buckets to lead 14-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Both teams played stingy man defense and the tempo was fast. Garber had his second bucket of the night early in the second quarter, but Nemaha Central buried a huge triple and tied the game at 16 with just under five minutes to play in the half. The lead changed hands several times in the period and the Thunder grabbed the lead with three seconds left in the half. Garber had 6 points and senior Preston Michael hit a well-needed trey, however, the Bluejays would trail 23-25 at the intermission.

“Our kids played hard but our shots weren’t falling,” Coach Burger said. “From the field, we shot the worst percent of the year. We were out-rebounded by seven, which led to some of their first half second chance points.”

The Bluejays started the second half with a zone defense in an effort to force Nemaha Central to shoot over the top. Sabetha had some good looks early, but they struggled to get the ball to drop, and they picked up some personal fouls that would gauge how aggressively they could play down the stretch. Garber added 6 points in the third quarter, Rokey had 3 points and Bauman chipped in 2 points. The Thunder would hold a 4-point lead, 38-34, headed into the final period.

Nemaha Central widened their lead by opening the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, and Garber answered with a triple of his own at the other end. Garber poured in 13 points in the fourth quarter alone in an effort to get his team over the hump and give the Jays a chance to score.

The ball refused to drop with consistency for the Bluejays and they stayed just an arms length away from the Thunder. Rokey had 4 points on a deuce and a pair of free throws to round out the scoring for Sabetha in the quarter. Nemaha Central hit two big triples and dropped nine of 12 shots from the stripe in the period to take the 59-51 victory.

“They [Nemaha Central] shot 63 percent on three-point attempts, 58 percent from the field and 72 percent from the line,” Coach Burger said. “They held the ball for 30 to 60 seconds each possession, then would break down our defense.

The Bluejay’s epic season ended with a 21-1 overall record, a Burlington Invitational Tournament championship and an undefeated Big Seven League title.

“It doesn’t take away the great year these guys had. They worked as hard as any group I’ve coached,” Coach Burger said. “They were best friends and loved being around each other. They were fun to watch and fun to coach, and I’m so proud of them and all their accomplishments on and off the court.”