Last second shot sinks men in semifinal

By: Noah Hermansen

Buzzer beaters, buzzer beaters and more buzzer beaters. Many game ending shots have shocked teams left and right this year. In an instant, the season could be over.

The semi-final game for the men ended March 11 as the final seconds ticked away and the Iowa City Trojans made a last second bucket to send them to the finals. The final score was 61-59 as the season for the men tragically ended. The score was tied 59-59 with Iowa City shooting a 1 and 1 with very few seconds left.

Connor McCaffery missed the free throw, and Cedar Falls got the rebound. The outlet pass was intercepted, and the Trojans shot a shot with a couple seconds left. The shot missed and was tipped like a volleyball in for the win.

But the persistence was there to the very end. “The Iowa City West game showed that we never gave up through adversity and proved what kind of team we were. It just sucks to lose the way we did,” sophomore AJ Green said.

Senior Tra’von Fagan agreed. “That last game was a great game. We got a little of our own medicine, but we worked really hard, and I loved how we never gave up.”

The men’s basketball team’s season officially ended March 12 following the loss against Pleasant Valley for third place in State. The men finished fourth overall in 4A play.

These men are the second team in school history to make it to the semi-finals in state play. “The way the last game ended sucked a lot, but we accomplished more than people thought we could,” senior Michael Abbas said.

Green agreed. “Overall this season was one to remember because we made it to State and accomplished all of our goals except one, which was to win it,” he said.

Of course, the men’s team had become a family, and though sad that it all had to come to an end, it was full of memories that will last forever. “It was fun playing with all the guys, and I’m going to miss it. We made a lot of good memories that will stick with us,” Fagan said, but the relationships remain even after the season.  “Our team was special on the court and off. We embodied a true team as we were all in a sense, a group of brothers,” senior Logan Mozena said.