By Dale Miller
dale.miller@theindependent.com

But his team made sure the spotlight shined brightly on its coach.

With Hampton's 58-35 win over St. Mary's at Pershing Center, Eickhoff stood alone as the high school basketball coach with the most wins in Nebraska history.

The victory was Eickhoff's 649th, breaking a tie with former Spalding Academy coach Ed Colleran.

"It'll mean a lot more when I retire," Eickhoff said. "Now I'm concerned about the kids. They played a great game.

"This (record) is something that takes an entire community. The support of the parents keeps me here. If it weren't for the kids, I wouldn't be here."

Hampton (21-5) raced out to a 16-6 first quarter lead and never looked back. The Hawks appeared to be the more motivated team.

They were.

"This was something we did for Mr. Eickhoff for all that he's done for us," said senior guard Brock Kohtz.

Senior post Dylan Bamesberger said Eickhoff didn't want any focus on the record. But the team knew what it could accomplish while also claiming a third-place trophy.

"He really tried to make (talk about the record) white noise," Bamesberger said. "But he motivated us and had us ready to play."

Eickhoff admitted earning him the record did spark the team.

"It was a motivational factor for the kids, especially the seniors," he said. "They wanted to do it."

The chant of "649" from the Hampton student section began with a minute left in the game. In reality it could have started much sooner.

By halftime the Hawks had extended their lead to 31-15. They did that with 11 players seeing time on the court in the first half.

"It was important that we used everybody," Eickhoff said. "The kids who had not had a lot of playing time (at state) were the first off the bench tonight. They had fresh legs. They've practiced hard all year, so they deserve to play with the game on the line.

"There was no drop-off. That's pretty rare at a small school."

Bamesberger, who finished with a game-high 19 points, felt the bench played a big part in the outcome.

"The top seven or eight guys who played all tournament had a little bit of noodle legs," he said. "Everyone who came in did a great job when we needed them."

While Hampton dominated in almost every aspect of the game, the Hawks' defense was a big key in building up the lead.

St. Mary's 6-foot-3 junior center Zack Sibbel was held to four points, 15 below his season average. He didn't score in the first half and only got off three shots.

"We used a chaser defense to shut down (Sibbel)," Eickhoff said. "That confused St. Mary's."

Bamesberger was the player assigned to guard Sibbel, and he relished the opportunity.

"Mr. Eickhoff at practice this morning told me that (Sibbel) has scored (almost) 500 points this season," he said. "To hold him to as few points as he had was important. I was glad we used a box-and-one defense and I got the chance to shut him down."

Eickhoff credited his seniors for a strong final game. Along with Bamesberger's 19 points, Kohtz added eight points, eight rebounds and six assists.

"Our seniors really stepped up," Eickhoff said. "Dylan Bamesberger had a strong tournament. He shot the ball with confidence and played great defense.

"Brock Kohtz was back healthy. He had his knee scoped about a month ago. He's a tremendous defensive player."

Junior Dwayne Wall added a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore Alex Dose had six points and four assists.

"Our offense improved the last three weeks of the season," Eickhoff said. "We're moving the ball and shooting with confidence."

Andrew Krotter led the Cardinals (21-5) with 12 points. St. Mary's coach Gary Chvala has 436 wins himself, giving the game's coaches a combined 1,085 career victories.

But this was clearly Eickhoff's night. His players wouldn't have it any other way.

"We got 649 for Mr. Eickhoff," Kohtz said. "He didn't want to talk about it. But for us to go down in history winning the first consolation game and getting him the record is special. What other way would (the seniors) want to go out except for (winning) a state championship?"

HAMPTON 58, ST. MARY'S 35

HAMPTON (21-5)

Dose 2-7 1-2 6, Wall 6-8 1-2 13, Kohtz 3-8 2-2 8, Dy. Bamesberger 6-15 3-3 19, Ediger 1-2 0-0 2, Klipp 0-2 0-0 0, Peters 1-5 0-0 2, Arnett 1-1 0-0 2, Klute 0-0 2-3 2, Goertzen 0-1 0-1 0, DJ Bamesberger 1-2 2-2 4, Garrison 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-53 11-15 58.

ST. MARY'S (21-5)

Wecker 0-1 0-0 0, Krotter 4-9 1-3 12, Eiler 3-10 1-2 8, Crumly 0-7 1-2 1, Sibbel 1-7 2-3 4, Petersen 1-3 0-2 2, Schneider 1-3 0-0 2, Reiman 1-6 1-2 4, Boyle 0-4 0-0 0, Kersenbrock 0-1 0-0 0, Podany 0-0 0-0 0, Jonousek 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 11-46 8-16 35.

Hampton 16 15 15 12-58

St. Mary's 9 6 10 10-35

3-point goals-Hampton 5-11 (Dose 1-2, Wall 0-1, Kohtz 0-1, Dy. Bamesberger 4-5, Klipp 0-2), St. Mary's 5-22 (Krotter 3-7, Eiler 1-4, Sibbel 0-2, Petersen 0-2, Schneider 0-1, Reiman 1-5, Boyle 0-1). Fouled out-Ediger. Rebounds-Hampton 43 (Wall 12), St. Mary's 34 (Sibbel 11). Assists-Hampton 13 (Kohtz 6), St. Mary's 5 (Wecker, Eiler 2). Turnovers-Hampton 6, St. Mary's 12. Total fouls-Hampton 15, St. Mary's 17. Technicals-none.