West Morgan falls short in Elite Eight once again
· Yahoo Sports
Feb. 24—HANCEVILLE — The Elite Eight continues to be the Achilles heel of the West Morgan Rebels.
For three years in a row, the Rebels have reached the Elite Eight of the Class 4A Northwest Regional, and for three years they've come up short of reaching the Final Four.
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Monday's loss was the most heartbreaking yet.
The Rebels led by four with just over a minute to go but three turnovers saw Deshler steal the victory by sinking a free throw with five seconds left to win 48-47.
"To have a four-point lead with a minute to go and have those turnovers, it was disappointing," said West Morgan head coach Bobby Meyer. "We had the ball with a chance to win, and it ended with them at the free-throw line. That's tough."
West Morgan jumped out on Deshler early, grabbing a 15-12 lead by the end of the first quarter. The game turned sideways in the second quarter when the Rebels went more than nine minutes without a field goal, falling behind 27-18 at the half.
"We were settling too much for perimeter shots," Meyer said. "They were committing three guys to the gaps, and we just couldn't find the space to get to the rim.
West Morgan rallied in the second half when Colby Jones hit three 3-pointers to ignite his team. Landon Henderson, who was held to just six points in the first three quarters, scored eight in the fourth.
West Morgan had a chance to seal the win with 45 seconds remaining when a player got open under the basket for a layup that would have put the Rebels up by four. But the pass went through his hands and out of bounds, giving Deshler an opportunity to tie the game. Another turnover saw Deshler's Garrett Reid get fouled, leading to the game-winning free throw.
Jones led West Morgan with 16 points, while Henderson had 14 and Keelan Murphy had 10. Reid led Deshler with a game-high 17 points.
A third consecutive loss in the Elite Eight is a tough pill to swallow, but Meyer said he believes his team will eventually get over the hump and reach the Final Four for what would be the first time since 1973.
"That's our goal, and it's going to continue to be our goal," Meyer said. "We're going to have to go into the offseason with the right mindset so we can make sure we have the opportunity again next year."
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