By Bob Hamar
bob.hamar@theindependent.com

The Red Hornets jumped to an early lead, but an ice-cold second quarter and some hot shooting by Nebraska Lutheran changed the game around as the Knights went on to a 54-45 victory Friday at Heartland Lutheran High School.

The Red Hornets (9-9) were playing with its leading scorer, sophomore Jacob Salter, who was gone because of a death in the family.

"It's the most frustrating game I've been in," Heartland Lutheran coach Lloyd Wagnitz said. "Salter was missing which hurt a little bit tonight. Matthew (Wagnitz) in the first quarter hit his head where he got a concussion last year so he was a little woozy.

"We just didn't execute. The second quarter, it cost us. We couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. We just didn't play very well."

The Red Hornets got off to a fast start and led 11-2 with 2 minutes, 40 seconds left in the first quarter.

"It was a great start," Lloyd Wagnitz said. "I think we started thinking about our shots too much instead of just shooting the ball. Everybody was a little tentative and I hate distractions like Senior Night, but that's no excuse. We just didn't execute very well."

Nebraska Lutheran turned things around in a big way. The Knights outscored the Red Hornets 19-4 in the second quarter. Sophomore Matthew Bollich hit three of his five 3-pointers in the second quarter to help Nebraska Lutheran build 25-17 lead at the half.

"That was his best game of the year," Nebraska Lutheran coach Matt Willems said of Bollich. "He usually comes off the bench for 15 minutes a game. He was playing well so I started him the second half. He must have played about 26 minutes tonight and hit five 3-pointers."

Nebraska Lutheran still led 36-27 heading into the fourth quarter. The Red Hornets finally got things going in the final quarter with Matthew Wagnitz leading the way.

Wagnitz, who also had 15 rebounds for the game, scored 12 of his 17 points in the final quarter.

"Wagnitz has been a terrific player," Willems said. "As an opposing coach, I'm glad to see him finally graduating. We held him in check until that fourth quarter when he turned it on."

Heartland Lutheran got to within five points late in the game, but Nebraska Lutheran sophomore Dustin Myers who led all scorers with 19 points hit 9 of 10 free throws down the stretch to help the Knights hold on for the win.

"He's consistently been our best player all year long," Willems said of Myers. "He goes 12 for 14 from the free-throw line and scores 19 points and is just a sophomore. He plays with so much maturity."

Lloyd Wagnitz said the Red Hornets wanted to go into Monday's subdistrict game against Nebraska Chrsitian on a winning note.

"It's very frustrating because I know we should have won this game," Wagnitz said. "We're 9-9. We needed that one to guarantee a winning season."

NEBRASKA LUTHERAN 54, HEARTLAND LUTHERAN 45

NEBRASKA LUTHERAN (4-11)

Clayton 0-6 0-4 0, Myers 3-11 12-14 19, Teig 3-7 1-2 7, Myers 3-5 5-7 11, Schwartz 1-5 0-0 2, Bollich 5-10 0-0 15, Mohlke 0-0 0-0 0, Huangnam0-1 0-0 0, Kleensang 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-46 18-27 54.

HEARTLAND LUTHERAN (9-9)

Bartels 2-15 0-0 4, J. Messsersmith 0-4 0-0 0, Wagnitz 6-15 -36 17, A. Messersmith 3-9 4-6 10, Kreutzer -25 0-2 4, Seim 1-2 0-0 2, Rauert 4-5 0-0 8, Kowalski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-55 7-14 45.

Nebraska Lutheran 6 19 11 1854

Heartland Lutheran 13 4 10 1845

3-Point goals Nebraska Lutheran 6-18 (Bollich 5-7, Myers 1-3, Huangnam 0-1, Schwartz 0-3, Clayton 0-4). Heartland Lutheran 2-17 (Wagnitz 2-7, J. Messersmith 0-2, Bartels 0-8). Fouled out Kreutzer. Rebounds Nebraska Lutheran 37 (Teig 9). Heartland Lutheran 38 (Wagnitz 15). Turnovers - Nebraska Lutheran 17, Heartland Lutheran 18. Total fouls Nebraska Lutheran 12, Heartland Lutheran 24. Technicals Kreutzer, Clayton.