The season came to an end for the Howells-Dodge Boys Tuesday night as the Jaguars lost 55-54 in a heartbreaker to Battle Creek in the C2-7 Sub-District Semifinals at Norfolk Catholic.
The Braves led 19-17 after one only to see Howells-Dodge double them up 18-9 in the second quarter to take a 35-28 lead into the locker room.
Battle Creek won the third quarter 10-7 to make it a 42-38 game at the end of three.
Both teams traded layups at the end of the game before the Jaguars' Lane Hegemann missed a shot at the buzzer that went in and out.
The Braves outscored Howells-Dodge 17-12 in the fourth quarter.
Connor Blum paced the Jaguars with 19 points. Zach Bayer registered 12 while Dax VanLengen recorded 10.
Head Coach Cole Fischer says his team gave it everything they had. "Sometimes the game of basketball can be cruel and games end in a way you cannot explain. Our boys played their hearts out and left it on the court. Thank you to the seniors for being great leaders and the hard work over the past 4 years."
Howells-Dodge ends the season at 10-13.
The highlights of the season had to be the wins over West Point-Beemer, Humphrey St. Francis, and Wakefield.
The Jaguars gave it everything they had against the Braves, and the loss honestly has to be crushing and heartbreaking.
It might take a little bit for Howells-Dodge to get over that one.
Blum led the team in scoring this season with 268 points while Lane Hegemann was the team leader in rebounds with 125. VanLengen was second in rebounds with 116 while Blum was third with 103.
The Jaguars lose two seniors in Bayer and Justin Shonka, that is it.
Key returners for Howells-Dodge in 2017-2018 include Blum, Jordan Brichacek, Caden Jackson, Kade Hegemann, Ryan Macholan, Josh Brester, Seth Cech, and Lane Hegemann.
The Jaguars figure to be good and mighty next year given how this season ended.
I think how this year concluded has to leave a sour taste in the mouths of Howells-Dodge.
I look for the Jaguars to use the finish as motivation and fuel to the fire though.
I think you will see Howells-Dodge come back with a vengeance next season, and be ready to go on a tear.
The returning players and newcomers have to wake up every morning from now until November ready to work and ready to get after it.
Obviously everyone will need breaks at some point, but everyone should be thinking play basketball as much as possible when they wake up, so at the very least they have a basketball mindset.
Football and Track are obviously big for a lot of these kids too so working hard on those sports is important too, but devoting proper time to basketball is also key.
Shooting, working on agility drills, and lifting as much as possible are all important for and key to the Jaguars having a successful season in 2017-2018.
The more basketball these kids play against one another from now until November, the better they are going to be next season.
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