Warriors advance to District Final

FULLERTON — One more win. The Warriors need one more win to punch their tickets to Lincoln.

Fullerton (20-5) held up on for 39-36 win over Riverside in the D1-6 Sub-District on Thursday. The win propels the Warriors to the D1-7 District Final on Saturday against Overton.

A year ago, Fullerton knew they secured a wild card heading into the sub-district final against Archangels Catholic. This year it was win or go home.

“This time we knew we had to win, had to defend our home court if we wanted to keep going,” Fullerton coach Will Wagner said. “And there was a sense of maturity with this group of guys. They’ve been locked in.”

Thursday’s win over the Chargers was a battle in every sense of the word. No lead was safe as both teams traded leads throughout the contest.

“We knew they were going to get pressure on our shooters,” Wagner said. “They know some of our moves, our tendencies, and they were going to be in the right spots. We knew that we had to be deliberate with our offensive possessions.”

Wagner said that he had the confidence in his squad that even if they were behind, they knew they could rally back.

“We’ve been in situations like this before and that shows the maturity of the guys,” he said. “You know, we have 14- to 18-year-olds playing basketball and they play like they have been doing it for decades already.”

All tied up at 36-apiece with 52 seconds remaining in regulation, sophomore Jakob Supik fired a three-point shot that would but the Warriors ahead for good. It was his first points of the game.

“Jakob has been such a good player for us this year,” Wagner said. “He’s had games where he goes off for 24 points and has had multiple games where he hasn’t scored. But one thing I tell each and every one of these kids day in and day out is I don’t care if you are 0-for-1 or 0-for-10; keep shooting. There is a reason I have you out on the court.

“He has the confidence as a shooter,” Wagner added. “He doesn’t care if he is 0-for-20, if he feels good when he catches that ball, he’s going to put it up. He has all the confidence in the world and so do I.

Fullerton’s halfcourt defense gave Riverside headaches throughout the game. Multiple possessions took the entire 35-second shot clock with shots thrown up just before the buzzer.

“I don’t think Terrick or Kane subbed out that entire game,” Wagner said. “With their defensive intensity, the rest of the guys really rely on those two as leaders on the court. And for them to show no letdown all game, they make sure the other players keep that defensive intensity all four quarters.”

Kane Wetovick led the way for the Warriors with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

“His shots weren’t falling in the first half,” Wagner said of Wetovick. “Some of his drives he lost the ball or thought he got fouled. (Riverside) just did a good job of getting their hands on the ball and creating loose balls and turnovers. For Kane to be able to push through that and still put on a Kane game, that’s huge. It’s fun seeing him score 46, 38 and 33 points night in and night out, but when you have these low scoring games, each bucket is just as important as the next. So, whether he scores 10 or 21, those are going to be meaningful points that he contributes every time.”

Terrick Gonsior had 6 points and 6 rebounds. Jacob Maxfield finished with 4 points.

The Warriors shot 31 percent from the field for the game. They made 57 percent of their shots inside the three-point arc and just 19 percent (6-of-31) from long range. They were 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

Fullerton travels to Overton on Saturday. The Eagles lost to Elm Creek 70-63 in the D1-9 Sub-District, snapping an 11-game win streak. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. with a trip to State on the line.

Fullerton 39, Riverside 36

Fullerton: Wetovick 21, Gonsior 6, Maxfield 4, Horn 3, Supik 3, Gustafson 2.

Riverside: L. Carraher 14, Glesinger 6, Heikes 6, Molte 6, B. Carraher 2, Bernt 2.