CEDAR RAPIDS — Leading by four points with eight minutes left to play, victory slipped through the Wolfpack’s paws as Riverside claimed a 67 to 55 victory in the championship game of the Riverside Holiday Tournament.
Played Friday evening on the Chargers’ home court, Elgin Public-Pope John couldn’t hold off the chargers in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Wolfpack 24 to eight.
The Chargers dominated the “paint” in the fourth quarter as 6’4” Tanner Hudson repeatedly broke down the Wolfpack’s defense for easy baskets.
The Wolfpack led 47 to 43 to start the fourth quarter. Back-to-back baskets by Noah Valasek knotted the score at 47-all. A Scott Moser field goal tied the game at 49-all. After a Jake Kennedy field goal, Wolfpack senior Kyle Heithoff scored at the 5:19 mark to knot the score at 51-all. The Wolfpack were then held scoreless for the next 3 1/2 minutes.
By the time Heithoff scored again, the Chargers had surged to a 62 to 53 lead.
A key to the Chargers’ success down the stretch was free throws. They connected on 10 of 12 free throws in the final five minutes of the game as the Wolfpack was forced to foul to try and mount a comeback.
The Wolfpack were led in scoring by Heithoff with 16 points,
Jack Borer sank three treys and finished with 14 points, Moser added 10.
The Wolfpack made 21 of 51 shots from the field and sank eight of 12 free throws.
Seth Schumacher led the Wolfpack in rebounds with 10.
Tuesday action
Down by one point after the first quarter, the Wolfpack scored in bunches the rest of the game to defeat the Burwell Longhorns 61 to 36.
Over the final three quarters, the Wolfpack outscored the Longhorns 52 to 26 to claim the victory and advance to the championship game.
EPPJ took control of the game in the second quarter. Trailing 10 to nine at the start, the Wolfpack outscored their opponent 26 to seven to take a 35 to 17 lead at halftime.
Scott Moser had a memorable game. He connected on nine of 11 shots from the field and finished with a game-high 20 points. Also scoring in double figures for the Wolfpack was Zach Eischeid with 10. Moser also led the Wolfpack in assists with five.
Riverside 67, Wolfpack 55
Wolfpack………7 18 22 8 — 55
Riverside………5 16 22 24 — 67
Wolfpack — Dylan Behnk 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Borer 5-14 1-1 14, Zach Eischeid 0-2 2-4 2, Kyle Heithoff 7-12 0-0 16, Regan Kerkman 3-8 0-1 6, Austin Meis 0-3 0-0 0, Scott Moser 4-5 2-2 10, Seth Schumacher 2-7 3-4 7. Team totals: 21-51 8-12 55. Three-point shots: Jack Borer (3), Kyle Heithoff (2).
Team statistics: Rebounds — Wolfpack 29 (Seth Schumacher 10). Assists — Wolfpack 15 (Seth Schumacher 5, Regan Kerkman 4). Steals — Wolfpack 5 (Jack Borer 2, Seth Schumacher 2). Turnovers — Wolfpack 7.
Wolfpack 61, Burwell 36
Wolfpack………9 26 10 16 — 61
Burwell……….10 7 8 11 — 36
Wolfpack — Dylan Behnk 0-3 0-0 0, Chad Bode 0-1 0-0 0, Jack Borer 3-7 2-2 8, Zach Eischeid 3-10 2-2 10, Kyle Heithoff 2-4 0-3 6, Kyle Kallhoff 1-2 0-0 2, Regan Kerkman 4-6 0-0 8, Austin Meis 1-5 0-0 2, Scott Moser 9-11 2-3 20, Seth Schumacher 2-5 0-1 5, Miles Schrage 0-0 0-2 0. Team totals: 25-54 6-13 61. Three-point shots — Zach Eischeid 2, Kyle Heithoff 2, Seth Schumacher 1.
Burwell — Devin Watts 3-8 2-8 9, Colten Krause 2-11 2-9 6, Jordan Scott 1-6 1-3 3, Ty Chaffin 2-17 5-8 9, Cayden Owens 3-7 0-0 7, Logan Simpson 1-6 0-2 2, Waylan David 0-1 0-0 0. Team totals: 12-56 10-30 36. Three-point shots: Devin Watts 1, Cayden Owens 1.
Team statistics: Rebounds — Wolfpack 23 (Jack Borer 4, Zach Eischeid 4, Austin Meis 4), Burwell 31. Assists — Wolfpack 15 (Scott Moser 5), Burwell 6. Steals — Wolfpack 10 (Kyle Heithoff 2, Austin Meis 2), Burwell 6. Turnovers — Wolfpack 11, Burwell 11.
