Broncos' Big Second Half Run Overpowers Doane in Season Finale
(Crete, NE) – The men’s basketball team came out of the halftime break with a purpose on Saturday, rallying from a six-point deficit to win handily, 70-58. Hastings opened the second half on a 31-8 run, drilling seven threes in that half alone.
(Crete, NE) – The men's basketball team came out of the halftime break with a purpose on Saturday, rallying from a six-point deficit to win handily, 70-58. Hastings opened the second half on a 31-8 run, drilling seven threes in that half alone.
Junior Cameron Coraggio started things off strong for Hastings with a three and freshman Maverick Binder followed it up with a three of his own to go up 6-0. After a Doane basket, junior David Ogunlade hit the third three of the half in less than four minutes, as Hastings led 9-2.
The Tigers started to creep back into it, but Hastings hung strong, going up 17-10 with two points from junior Hunter Hill, a three-pointer by sophomore Ben Boudreau, and an and-one finish from Binder halfway through the first half. The Tigers closed the half on a 17-4 run, however, leading 27-21 at the half.
Doane shot 48 percent overall in the first half, while Hastings was at 26 percent after their red-hot start. The Tigers also held an eight-rebound advantage on the boards and outscored Hastings 22-4 in the paint. Binder's six points led Hastings at the half.
The final 20 minutes belonged to the Broncos, as similar to the beginning of the game, Coraggio opened up the second half with a three-pointer, which started an 8-0 run to begin the quarter. Junior DaRon Hall drained a three and Ogunlade scored inside to go up 29-27 less than two minutes into the half.
Down 30-29 after a Tiger and-one, Hastings went on a big 23-5 run to take a 52-35 lead with 8:11 to go. Hastings hit four three-pointers during the run, with one each from Coraggio, Ogunlade, Binder, and Boudreau. Boudreau had six points during the run and Coraggio added five, including the three-pointer to begin the run.
Doane scored a couple times after the run ended, but baskets from junior Myles Simon and Boudreau pushed the lead out further to as much as 22 with 4:58 left on a triple from Boudreau. A 12-0 run over the next three minutes got the Tigers to within 10 with 1:48 left.
Binder broke the Tiger run with a layup to go back up 12 with one minute to go, then Boudreau and senior Jackson McGinnis sank three free throws to ice the game away and win, 70-58.
In the second half, Hastings shot 61 percent from the field and made seven threes at a 50 percent clip, while holding Doane to 39 percent and 1-11 from beyond the arc. Hastings' bench outscored Doane's 29-8 for the game.
Boudreau scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the second half, also contributing four rebounds and two steals off the bench. Coraggio and Binder each finished with 11 points, while Binder also had four rebounds. Hall did a bit of everything, scoring seven points and leading the team with nine assists and seven rebounds.
The win concludes Hastings' season on a positive note, despite not qualifying for the GPAC Tournament, with a 5-22 record overall and 4-16 in conference.
