TECUMSEH — The shot wasn’t as open as Caydrick Bloomquist would have liked, but it was there.
He had to take it.
With the Emporia High boys trailing Shawnee Heights by one point Friday night and less than 5 seconds left, Bloomquist — sandwiched between two defenders on the right baseline — muscled a shot up to the goal. The ball hit the the rim and bounced away, and though Emporia’s Jacob Torres had it in his grasp for a moment, time ran out on EHS, giving Shawnee Heights a 60-59 victory and snapping Emporia’s five-game winning streak.
As the horn sounded, a throng of Shawnee Heights students, who had been loud and vocal all game, swarmed the court while the dejected Spartans could do nothing but line up and wait to shake the hands of the celebrating Thunderbird players.
“I had an open shot,” Bloomquist said. “I got past two guys off the pick, and it was in and out. I thought it was in, but it just took that bad roll, and it came out.”
It was the one time all night Emporia (9-5, 4-3 Centennial League) had failed to make a comeback.
In a game that featured nine ties and 19 lead changes, Emporia High managed to find an answer for everything Shawnee Heights threw at the Spartans, except when it mattered the most — at the end of the game when Heights’ packed gymnasium was in a frenzy.
“I don’t think we handled the distractions very well,” EHS coach Rick Bloomquist said. “This is the first time we haven’t played with a whole lot of poise. I think we got caught up in the emotion of the crowd.”
The two teams were knotted at 49 at the start of the fourth quarter, and over the game’s next 6 1/2 minutes, both squads took turns exchanging blows. The score was tied twice and the lead changed five times, with Heights’ Matt Kobbeman hitting a running floater in the lane with 2 minutes left that put the Thunderbirds (9-5, 4-3) ahead, 56-55.
On Emporia’s next possession, Troy Pierce put EHS back in front with a jumper from the left baseline that bounced around the rim three times before falling through the net, making it 57-56. EHS then extended that lead when Taylor Euler hit two free throws to put Emporia on top, 59-56, with 51 seconds to go.
After Heights’ Jordan Cooper knocked down a pair of free throws to draw the T-Birds back to within one, Heights’ Layne Nash fouled Caydrick Bloomquist, sending the senior to the line for a one-and-one opportunity with 32 seconds left.
Bloomquist’s first attempt hit the back of the rim and bounced away, and Nick Gardner grabbed the rebound for the T-Birds, giving Heights a chance to take the lead with one shot.
“When your best free-throw shooter is on the line with a one-and-one opportunity, he’s got to make that,” Rick Bloomquist said. “He’s got to step up and hit those.”
After a Heights timeout, Cooper curled off a screen at the top of the key just inside the three-point line and took a shot. His attempt was too strong, and after being tipped around several times, the ball fell into the hands of Ryan Floberg, who laid it in off the glass for what would be the game-winning shot, as it put Heights ahead, 60-59.
“Everybody was battling for the board,” Pierce said, “and he (Floberg) was just able to come up with it and make a big shot.”
EHS called a timeout to set up the final play, but even though Bloomquist got a look at the basket, it was against heavy pressure.
“It just didn’t fall,” he said.
Bloomquist finished with a game-high 20 points, while Euler had 13 and Torres had 12. Pierce, despite not practicing the last three days while recovering from the flu, grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
“I’ve said all along that Shawnee Heights is a very good basketball team,” Coach Bloomquist said. “I’m definitely disappointed that we lost ... but we might be able to revert back to this game later on if we get in the same situation in Sub-State play or at State where it’s this kind of a game — where its close and the crowd is into it.”
Shawnee Heights 60, Emporia 59
Friday at Shawnee Heights
Emporia 14 18 17 10 — 59
Shawnee Heights 18 12 19 11 — 60
Emporia (9-5, 4-3 Centennial League) — Brandon Childs 1-2 0-0 2, Caydrick Bloomquist 6-19 5-7 20, Taylor Euler 3-8 4-4 13, Jacob Torres 3-7 4-6 12, Troy Pierce 3-9 0-0 6, Eric Reimer 0-0 0-0 0, Greg Canales 2-6 2-2 6. Totals 18-51 15-19 59.
Shawnee Heights (9-5, 4-3) — Ryan Floberg 2-6 0-0 4, Layne Nash 4-11 0-0 10, Matt Kobbeman 4-9 4-4 13, Jordan Cooper 4-8 3-4 11, Nick Gardner 2-8 1-1 5, Rhett Reynolds 4-10 1-2 9, Will McCoy 0-1 1-2 1, Derek Hayes 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Wegener 2-4 0-0 5, Drew Hansen 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-59 10-13 60.
3-point goals — Emporia 8-22 (Bloomquist 3-11, Euler 3-8, Torres 2-3), SH 4-16 (Floberg 0-1, Nash 2-5, Kobbeman 1-3, Reynolds 0-5, Hayes 0-1, Wegener 1-1). Rebounds — Emporia 34 (Pierce 13), SH 37 (Gardner 9). Assists — Emporia 9 (Torres 3), SH 2 (Floberg, Cooper 1). Turnovers — Emporia 8, SH 8. Total fouls — Emporia 10, SH 18.