WACO falls to HTC on last second lay in

WEST BURLINGTON — WACO and Holy Trinity Catholic put on quite a show inside Southeastern Community College’s Loren Walker Arena on Saturday night in the first of two games in the final round of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference Shootout.

The two squads, representing the second overall seeds in the SEISC North and South divisions, were separated by nine points, 59-50, the first time they met back in November.

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This time around, the Warriors and Crusaders kept the margins about as close as they could go with Holy Trinity taking the win on a last second lay in, 54-53.

What ended up being a game of runs, saw Holy Trinity have the final run.

Prior to that, it was WACO who controlled the contest.

The Warriors ended the third period on a 10-0 run to take a 39-35 lead into the fourth quarter, but HTC stayed poised.

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In the opening stages of the final eight minutes, the Warriors and Crusaders tied once and exchanged the lead three times before WACO took control late in the contest.

With just under three and a half minutes to go in the game, WACO clung onto a six point advantage, 53-47, after back-to-back threes from Clayton Miller and Reece Oswald.

To the Warrior’s demise, they wouldn’t score again the rest of the way out and Holy Trinity took advantage.

“We held a six-point lead late,” WACO head coach Paul Kissell said. “I probably got a little too conservative. At the end, they hit the shot. It’s good for Holy Trinity and a good learning experience for us.”

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The Crusaders closed the game on a 7-0 run to win it, which was capped off by what was a game winning layup from the Crusaders Conner Gehling.

On the previous possession, the Warriors had a shot to make it a three point game or even take a four-point lead, but Crusaders forced a shot-clock violation with 35 seconds remaining, setting up Gehling’s baseline driving game winner.

Despite the loss, the Warriors did well to follow the game plan as they hammered the ball down low to likes of Chase Waterhouse and Colton Leichty. The duo combined for 27 points and 15 rebounds.

“We were a little short handed tonight,” Kissell said. “But through 17 or 18 games the kids are ready to play. We had a game plan. They listened and went out there and played hard and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”

With perimeter threat and leading scorer Hunter Hughes out, guards Isaac Egli, Isaac Rich, Clayton Miller and Isaac Rich all stepped up.

Egli scored eight, Miller had seven, Oswald six and Rich five.

Holy Trinity led 14-11 after the opening quarter in the weekend battle, but the Warriors answered back with a 14-9 second to take a 25-23 lead into the half.

WACO drops to 14-5 on the season with the loss.