The Thayer Bobcats went up against the Lutheran North Crusaders on March 10, 2023, at the Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, Missouri, in the state semi-finals. Sadly, the Bobcats lost 61-60 to the Crusaders.
The Game
For the majority of the game the Crusaders kept a one to seven point lead on the Bobcats. At the end of each quarter, the Bobcats were either five or seven points behind depending on the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
In the fourth quarter, Thayer was feeling the pressure. Several times they got a couple point lead, but Lutheran North got it back. With 1.8 seconds left in the game, Thayer had a lead of three points and Lutheran North had the ball. With bated breath, the fans waited to see what would happen. Just as the buzzer went off, a Crusader player made a 3-point shot. The game went into overtime 55-55.
Overtime
The overtime was four minutes long. The two teams battled back and forth for the lead. Multiple times it looked like one team would take the win, only to be down in the next couple seconds. With a couple seconds left in the game, the Bobcats once more had the lead. It looked as if they were heading to the finals when the Crusaders made the shot to end the game. The Bobcats made a final attempt, but to no avail. The Crusaders won 61-60.
Tomorrow
With their win, the Crusaders advance to fight for first place against the Central (New Madrid County) Eagles at 2:00 pm at the Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield. The Bobcats will face off against the Lafayette County Huskers for third place at 10:00 am at the Hammons Student Center. [1] That will be an interesting match-up since last year, the Bobcats fell to the Huskers 59-64 in the semi-finals. [2]
Both teams put all they had on the court, and they tried their best. Good luck tomorrow, Bobcats!
Notes:
- ^https://www.mshsaa.org/MySchool/Schedule.aspx?s=471&alg=5&year=2022 (go back ↩)
- ^https://www.mshsaa.org/MySchool/Schedule.aspx?s=471&alg=5&year=2021 (go back ↩)
