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Heartland High School in Henderson is making its first ever boys state tournament appearance this year.
The Huskies (19-3) open the Class C-2 state tournament against Elmwood-Murdock (20-3) at 8:45 p.m. Thursday at Lincoln Southeast High School.
"It's a big deal," Heartland coach Joe Lundstrom said. "The kids are real focused. We've had really good practices this past week. Hopefully that will translate to the game."
The last time the community had a boys team at state was when Henderson High School qualified in 1993. The Huskies came close a year ago only to lose a tough game to Loup City in the district finals.
"This group of boys has been working toward this since they were freshmen," Lundstrom said. "Last year we lost a heartbreaker one game away from state. We thought we were still going to get in but we didn't."
Heartland was waiting for a wild card bid again this year after losing to Deshler in a subdistrict final. This time the waiting paid off.
The Huskies actually lost two of their last three games. They also ended the regular season with a loss to Doniphan-Trumbull.
Lundstrom said the team's shooting just wasn't up to par late in the season.
"We didn't shoot the ball quite as good," Lundstrom said. "We have a couple of scorers. Teams find ways to shut them down and we have to rely on other people. Sometimes that makes it tough on us. We do have kids who can step up and do it.
"We certainly played well enough defensively to win those games we lost. Offensively we took all the shots we normally take, but they didn't go in."
Now the Huskies face a challenge in an Elmwood-Murdock team that features one of the top Class C-2 players in the state in Kevin Zoz. The 6-foot senior point guard is averaging 16.9 points per game.
"We have to find a way to contain Zoz," Lundstrom said. "He's a complete player. He doesn't just score. He generates offense for other people. We can't stop him, so we have to find ways to contain him."
The Huskies will also have to perform well against Elmwood-Murdock's tough 1-3-1 zone.
"We play several 1-3-1 teams, but we haven't seen anybody play it like they do," Lundstrom said. "It's their system and they run it well.
"It's one of the best 1-3-1's I've ever seen."
The Huskies feature two seniors who carry the scoring load in 6-2 guard Ned Goertzen (17.5 points per game) and 6-3 guard Eric Ehmen (15.9 points per game).
Lundstrom said the team didn't change much in getting ready for the state tournament.
"We're doing the same things and concentrating on fundamentals," he said. "If I changed anything, it's that we've shot a little more. We had a chance to do a lot of shooting and hopefully that will pay off."
Lundstrom said the Huskies feel good about their chances because the C-2 field appears wide open.
"I don't know much about Perkins County and Oakland Craig, but everybody else sure is good," Lundstrom said. "I think it's wide open. Anybody can beat anybody. It's a wide-open C-2 field and that makes it exciting for the fans."
Heartland (19-3)
Player H Y PPG RPG
Wade Janzen 5-10 Sr. 5.3 1.5
Eric Ehmen 6-3 Sr. 15.9 4.6
Jesse Nissen 5-10 Fr. 0.0 0.2
Kellen Goertzen 6-3 Sr. 6.4 8.0
Cory Gabehart 6-3 Sr. 4.8 4.0
Jordan Hiebner 6-1 So. 0.2 0.4
Ned Goertzen 6-2 Sr. 17.5 5.8
Tanner Steingard 5-6 Fr. 0.0 0.0
Jamison Hollstein 6-3 Sr. 3.8 4.7
Spencer Friesen 5-4 Fr. 0.0 0.0
Lance Hiebner 6-1 So. 0.3 0.3
Nicholas Heinrichs 5-11 Jr. 2.0 0.8
Head coaches: Joe Lundstrom
Assistant coach: Matt Sutter
NSAA enrollment: 102
Conference: Southern Nebraska
State appearances: 1
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