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LINCOLN < Heartland only led for 30 seconds of its first state tournament game since Henderson and Bradshaw united, yet still found itself in a dogfight with No. 4 Elmwood-Murdock until the final buzzer Thursday at Lincoln Southeast High School.
The sixth-ranked Huskies (19-4) erased an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the Knights late before falling 45-41 in the opening round of Class C-2 play.
"The kids just continued to fight," Heartland coach Joe Lundstrom said. "It's a testament to our kids' heart. They just don't quit. They put themselves in a position to win the game at the end."
After Ned Goertzen hit a jumper to put the Huskies up 16-15 for a half-minute in the second quarter, Elmwood-Murdock (21-3) forged ahead and remained in front until late in the fourth. The Knights, who got 13 points from Jonathan Luetchens, pushed their lead to seven in the third quarter before Eric Ehmen hit a pair of 3s to rally Heartland to within one at 32-31 early in the fourth.
The Huskies squandered a pair of chances to move in front then, and they found themselves behind by eight just a short time later. But Goertzen hit three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt and scored another basket to make it 39-37.
Ehmen tied the game at 39-39 by putting back an offensive rebound with 56 seconds left. He was fouled on the play but missed the free throw that would've put Heartland on top.
Trenton Shrader hit a baseline jumper with 37 seconds to play to put the Knights up for good. Clay Carlton and Kevin Zoz each made a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to push Elmwood-Murdock into the semifinal round.
"I give our kids a lot of credit," Knights coach Terry Warner said. "They kept their composure."
Heartland certainly didn't do that in the opening minutes of the game. The Huskies let Elmwood-Murdock score on its first five possessions and were called for travelling five times in the opening period before eventually settling down.
They lost Ehmen, though, for the final 6:17 of the second quarter when he picked up his third foul. Heartland's leading scorer went to the bench without a point before tallying 11 points after intermission.
The Huskies, who got 15 points from Ned Goertzen, had three could-go-either-way calls go against them in the closing minutes and rushed a few 3-point attempts in the final period. They just needed one more to fall.
"We had the ball in the right guys' hands," Lundstrom said. "Eric and Ned have been doing that all year. I wouldn't want any other guy taking those shots. Rushed or not, those are the guys you want shooting when the games on the line."
HEARTLAND (41)
Ehmen 4-10 0-1 11, K. Goertzen 3-6 0-0 6, Gabehart 2-2 1-1 5, N.
Goertzen 4-10 5-5 15, Hollstein 1-2 0-0 2, Janzen 1-7 0-0 2. Totals
15-37 6-7 41.
ELMWOOD-MURDOCK (45)
Luetchens 6-8 1-2 13, Zoz 3-10 3-4 10, Zobel 1-2 0-2 2, Brewer 1-2 0-2
2, Shrader 3-11 6-9 12, Schmale 0-3 2-2 2, Novak 1-1 0-0 2, Carlton
0-0 2-2 2. Totals 15-36 14-21 45.
Heartland (19-4) 6 10 10 15 - 41
Elmwood-Murdock (21-3) 10 9 11 15 - 45
3-point goalsHeartland 5-20 (Ehmen 3-7, K.Goertzen 0-2, N.Goertzen 2-7, Janzen 0-4), Elmwood-Murdock 1-5 (Zoz 1-4, Schmale 0-1). Fouled outNone. ReboundsHeartland 19 (Ehmen, K. Goertzen, Janzen 4), Elmwood-Murdock 27 (Schrader 7). AssistsHeartland 5 (Ehmen 2), Elmwood-Murdock 5 (Zoz 2). TurnoversHeartland 15, Elmwood-Murdock 11. Total foulsHeartland 19, Elmwood-Murdock 10.
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