Men's Basketball Unable to Hold Late Lead, Fall 94-86

(Hastings, NE) – The Broncos came into the game against Morningside in good spirits after winning their first conference game on Wednesday. On Saturday, the Broncos shot the ball well and held a six-point lead with 3:11 left, but ultimately fell 94-86.

Sophomore David Hageman scored the first basket on a tough leaner to take an early 2-0 lead. Morningside responded with a 5-0 run before junior John Barnhill scored inside on an up-and-under move two minutes in. From there, the Mustangs scored nine of the next 11 points to take an early 14-7 lead four minutes into the game.

Shortly after a Mustang bucket, sophomore Ben Boudreau found fellow sophomore Hunter Hill on a pick-and-roll for a layup. Boudreau continued his hot shooting with a triple to trim the lead to 18-14, then after a couple stops and a Hill floater off the glass, Boudreau hit his second three of the half to make it 18-17 with 11:41 left.

Hastings took a 19-18 lead on a pair of free throws by Boudreau to conclude their 10-0 run, as Morningside answered on their next trip down with a three to go back up 21-19, which was the start of a 16-9 run by the Mustangs as they went up 34-28 with 8:10 to go in the first. After a timeout, juniors Christian Pujals and DaRon Hall came off the bench for five quick points.

Trailing 40-33, Hall drained a couple of mid-range jumpers, then freshman Maverick Binder hit his first three after hitting seven in the last game, at the 3:23 mark, cutting the lead to two. Boudreau tied it up again with two from the line, but the Mustangs closed the half on an 8-2 to go to the break up 52-46.

Both teams shot it well in the first half - Morningside at 72 percent and Hastings at 65 percent. They combined to shoot 11 of 13 from three-point range. Boudreau led the Broncos in scoring at the half with 14 points.

The second half started well offensively for the Broncos with Binder getting to the rim for a layup and then splitting a pair at the line the next time down, but Morningside was able to extend the lead to ten three-and-a-half minutes in. Binder splashed in his fourth trey, Hageman hit a tough stepback three, then Hageman scored again inside to make it a 61-59 deficit with 14:15 left.

Hill tied it up at 61 with a tough finish in the post over a couple of Mustang defenders. Morningside bounced back with a 7-0 run to force a Bronco timeout with 11:53 left at 68-61. Hall, who had 16 of his 24 in the second half, again kept the Broncos afloat offensively with three mid-range jumpers and two free throws to make it 73-69 with 6:46 remaining.

Trailing 75-71, Hall pulled up again and banked in another midrange jumper. After a Mustang miss, Hall attacked the rim hard, scoring and drawing the foul in the process. His free throw gave the Broncos a 76-75 lead with 4:32 left. A Morningside free throw tied it up briefly, but Hall buried a three to go up 79-76 and Hill denied the Mustangs on the next defensive possession.

Binder hit again from three-point land, but the Mustangs came right back with a three of their own to cut the Broncos lead to three with 2:50 left. After a Hall miss, Morningside tied it up with a three from the wing. The Broncos turned it over on their next possession and the Mustangs drilled another three to go up three with 1:46 left. 

Binder came up short on his three-point attempt with Hastings down three and the Morningside grew their lead to five at the foul line. A turnover and runout by Morningside gave them a seven-point lead with 48 seconds left. They knocked down their free throws to hold on for the 94-86 defeat.

Hastings shot 58 percent from the field for the game compared to 55 percent from Morningside. The Broncos made 10 of 17 from three but got outrebounded by 11. Hall had 24 points and four rebounds, while Binder added 20 points on five threes with four assists. Boudreau finished with 14 points and a team-high six assists. Hill came off the bench to score eight points, collect a team-high seven rebounds, and dish out three assists.

Up next, Hastings will play at Waldorf on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3:45pm in Forest City, IA.