Staff writer
The game Feb. 22 was the second game in as many days for the Goessel High School boys basketball team. The Bluebirds lacked crispness as they tangled with the second-ranked team in the state in the 2A division. Berean Academy rattled off 8 consecutive points to end the first quarter with a 12-3 lead. The inside play of Berean was impressive, not because of height, but because good passes found open men for easy baskets.
Davis Cook scored 4 points in the second period, but the Bluebirds felt the momentum slipping away as the Warriors ended the first half with a 22-13 lead.
Berean started the second half with a 16-3 run, to blow the game wide open. Neal Brubaker dropped in a basket at the buzzer to end the third quarter with the Bluebirds behind, 38-18.
The Berean lead grew to 26 points late in the fourth quarter and the Goessel fans had little to cheer about. As the coaches cleared the bench, 5-foot-3 Shane Goerzen delighted the crowd with his speed as he dropped in 2 baskets, late in the game to make the final score Berean 50, Goessel 28.
Cook led the team with 6 points. Goerzen, Braden Unruh, Corey Buller, and John Berkholz had 4 points each. Brubaker and Nic Buller had 3 points apiece.
White City
The Bluebirds had a better game Feb. 21 with White City, however a come-from-behind victory may have spent most of their energy in this weather-delayed game. The Bluebirds fell behind, 4-0, to start the game, but a 3-pointer by Corey Buller, 4 points from Nic Buller, and a basket by Cook kept the Bluebirds as close as 10-9 at the end of one quarter.
The second quarter was laced with scoring streaks by the Huskies. The quarter started with White City scoring the first 6 points and ended with the Huskies scoring the last 6 points. The Bluebirds had connected on three 3-pointers in the first half, but it would take more than that to erase a 9-point deficit at the half, 30-21.
It looked dismal at the start of the second half as the home team outscored Goessel 9-2 to go ahead by 16 points.
A Bluebird rally began with Unruh scoring 4 points, Schmidt making a 3-pointer followed by a basket by Brubaker. Unruh hit another 3 and Goessel had closed within 5 points with 1:10 to play in the third period.
Several Husky points were matched with another Schmidt 3-pointer and the quarter ended with White City ahead, 46-38.
Jake Smucker started the fourth quarter with Goessel’s seventh 3-pointer of the night. Two free throws by Berkholz and another trey from Schmidt got the Bluebirds within 2 points with 5 minutes left in the game. The Bluebirds began matching baskets with the home team, but when Berkholz hit Goessel’s ninth 3-pointer of the game, the Bluebirds had tied the game, 52-52. The Bluebirds could not gain the lead, but a jumper by Unruh tied the game at 54.
Fortunately, for the visitors, White City missed 3-of-4 free throws and with 15 seconds remaining, Goessel called time-out to set up the last play of the game. When the set play did not develop, Schmidt found Unruh at the top of the key and a running jumper hit nothing but net to give Goessel their first lead of the game and a victory on the books with a final score, 56-55.
Unruh led the team with 18 points. Schmidt knocked in 13 and Berkholz canned 7. Cook, Brubaker, and Nic Buller each had 4 points. Smucker and Corey Buller had 3 points apiece.
The Goessel boys ended the regular season with a 10-10 record and a 5-3 record in the Wheat State League.