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HASTINGS One of the standard things that coaches like to say come tournament time is that they're just glad to keep playing. It may be a cliche, but the reason they keep saying it is because it's true.
Grand Island Senior High lived to play another day Saturday night as the Islanders got a 3-point shot in the waning seconds of the game to defeat North Platte 42-41 in the semifinals of the Class A, District 7 Tournament.
Trailing by two, Grand Island (17-4) regained possession of the ball with 22 seconds on the clock. The Islanders ran off time, then Slade Bolles fired the ball to Sam Carstens, who nailed the three from the top of the key with just over seven seconds remaining in the game.
North Platte (14-8) tried for one last shot, but failed to get a time out called and lost control of the ball just before the buzzer expired as the Islanders held on for the win.
The Islanders will face Kearney Tuesday night at Hastings for the district title and a ticket to Lincoln. The Bearcats advanced by defeating Columbus 42-39.
"Sometimes you have to have a bit of luck at this point in the season," Islander coach Dave Oman said. "Tonight's one of those nights. We got rattled in the second half and didn't execute very well, but we kept playing good defense. Sam is our best shooter, and that's who we wanted to have the shot."
It didn't appear early on that any last second heroics would be necessary as the Islanders did just about anything they wanted for the first 14 minutes of the game. Grand Island opened with threes from Carstens and Bolles, then added another from Jory Crouch moments later to run to an early 11-1 lead.
That dominance continued well into the second quarter, with Carstens going inside on a baseline drive, followed by a 3-point play from Crouch on an offensive rebound and putback.
Carstens, who led all scorers with 18 points on the night, added another basket and free throw to put the Islanders on top 22-6 with just over two minutes remaining in the half.
As Oman noted after the game, though, things may have come a little too easily for his team. The Bulldogs suddenly sprang to life and slipped in a couple of punches.
Quinton Standage hit a pair of free throws, then followed with a 3-pointer, and while Grand Island still held a double digit lead, the tone of the game had definitely shifted.
That became apparent immediately in the third period, as North Platte opened with a six-point run and generally outperformed Grand Island on offense the entire quarter.
Center Braka Matlock, who failed to get a shot off in the first half, took a pass from Kyle Obermeier after the inbounds pass to score, then added two more baskets in the third as the smaller Islander lineup, hobbled by the absence of Pete Kropp, struggled to contain the revived inside game.
Obermeier hit a three to cut the Grand Island lead to two late in the quarter, but Carstens bought the Islanders some time with a three of his own.
Leading by five entering the fourth, Grand Island continued to struggle with turnovers and offensive execution, and the Bulldogs took full advantage. Obermeier hit back to back threes as North Platte took the lead by one with five minutes to go.
The lead switched hands seven times down the stretch, with Grand Island going ahead 39-38 as Kash Kalkowski timed his break on the ball to get the steal and the length of the court layup. Jerrod Pavelka countered for the Bulldogs, and after two missed shots and an Islander foul, North Platte got a single free throw to lead 41-39.
That set up Carstens' final shot, and a controversial finish, at least in the mind of North Platte coach Dan Moore.
"There were six seconds left, and I yelled time out at least six times and made eye contact with the ref," Moore said. "But nobody blew the whistle and even though I thought there was a second left when our guy fell, (the officials) ran off the floor. I at least wanted an explanation for what happened. For them to go off without the explanation is a hard pill to swallow.
"I thought we did a much better job in the second half putting pressure on their guards and getting the ball inside. We had good shots in the first half, but they just didn't go down. Grand Island is a good team, and that shot by Carstens was really big. I just couldn't be prouder of my team."
Oman gave his team credit for individual players stepping up at different points in the game.
"Jory had a really big first half for us," Oman noted. "Mike Lorenz hit two free throws for us with about three minutes to go that were huge. I thought Kash had a good game defensively and rebounding. We got in foul trouble right away tonight, and we kind of lost our composure in the third. But the last four minutes or so we played pretty good defense and got the shot we needed."
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