BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
SOUTH HAVEN — Pawnee Heights basketball coach Ty Josefiak jumped off the bench to celebrate. The Tiger crowd roared its approval after a 3-hour trip to South Haven.
The Pawnee Heights Tigers celebrated their first state basketball trip in 49 years with a thrilling 48-43 upset over South Haven in the 1A Division 2 state tournament.
Alec Carlson led the Tigers with 18 points and Braden Colglazier scored 14 points and Adam Hands chipped in 12 points. The Tigers converted 18 of 30 free throws to outscore the Cardinals 18-5 at the charity line.
"It means a lot since we haven't qualified for state since 1972," Carlson said. "Our nine guys really wanted to win this ballgame tonight."
The Tigers last qualified for the state basketball tournament in 1972.
"It was a great team victory. We played pretty good basketball to beat a good South Haven team with a good record on the road," Josefiak said. "South Haven won a much tougher substate and we found a way to win this ballgame. Our defense was good enough tonight."
The Tigers (14-9) play McPherson Elyria (15-9) at 7 p.m. in Friday's 1A Division 2 state semifinals at Barton Community College.
The Tigers trailed 15-11 on a 3 of 20 shooting start. Colglazier converted two baskets and Hands added a basket for a 19-18 halftime deficit. The Tigers' defense held South Haven to 7 of 26 first-half shooting by getting in shooters' faces.
"We played a poor first-half offensively, but we knew we'd turn it around offensively," Josefiak said. "Alec Carlson started to get to the basket that third quarter. Braden Colglazier did a heck of a job on the boards. Braden had a mismatch that he took advantage of a few times."
Tiger standout Alec Carlson got rolling after a 1 of 10 first half. Carlson scored 14 second-half points, including three consecutive field goals that gave the Tigers a 26-23 lead in the third quarter that the Tigers never lost. Carlson's prettiest play was a handoff for a layup by teammate Davin Hamby for a 33-28 lead.
"That was a big third quarter. When I hit a couple shots in a row, it brought back our energy and our crowd got us going," Carlson said. "I forced it that first half, but I let the game come to me the second half. It was a good time. We started playing a little slower and worked for better shots."
The Tigers converted 11 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold off South Haven's furious rally. Braden Colglazier sank the final two free throws for a 48-43 lead. Adam Hands sank five free throws, Alec Carlson and Davin Hamby each added a pair of free throws.
South Haven sank 4 of 22 3-pointers, but Hunter Meyer gave the Cardinals a chance with a trio of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals' Cooper Wolf missed a tying 3-pointer with South Haven down 46-43.
"Meyer hit some miracle 3-pointers, but we're a good free throw shooting team," Josefiak said. "I was confident we'd make enough free throws. Our freshman Davin Hamby hit a couple big ones."
Pawnee Heights 7 11 11 19 — 48
South Haven 7 12 9 15 — 43
PAWNEE HEIGHTS (14-9)—Carlson 6-20 5-6 18, Colglazier 4-7 6-9 14, Hands 3-14 5-7 12, Hamby 1-1 2-6 4, Cordero, Jr. 0-1 0-0 0, Dakota Ryan 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 14-44 18-30 48
SOUTH HAVEN (15-7)—Hilt 7-18 1-2 15, Meyer 3-9 0-0 9, Wolf 2-11 4-4 8, Locke 1-7 0-0 3, Smith 1-1 0-0 2, VanZant 1-5 0-0 2, Theurer 1-2 0-3 2, Howell 1-4 0-0 2, Totals 17-57 5-9 43
3-pointers—PH 2-14 (Hands 1-5, Carlson 1-8, Cordero 0-1), SH 4-22 (Meyer 3-7, Locke 1-6, Theurer 0-1, VanZant 0-1, Howell 0-2, Wolf 0-5)
1A DIV. 2 BOYS SEMIFINALS
FRIDAY GREAT BEND—3 p.m—Hanover 21-1 vs. Northern Valley 14-9; 7 p.m.—McPherson Elyria 15-9 vs. Pawnee Heights 14-9
1A DIV. 2 QUARTERFINALS—Hanover 71, Beloit St. Johns 37; McPherson Elyria 41, Waverly 37; Pawnee Heights 48, South Haven 43; Northern Valley 52, Wheatland 44
PAWNEE HEIGHTS BOYS HISTORY (10-2)
6 STATE TRIPS (3-0 FINALS)
2021—Pawnee Heights 48, South Haven 43; Pawnee Heights vs. McPherson Elyria
1972—Bogue 61, Pawnee Heights 59
1963—BB—Dwight 51, Rozel 49
1960—B—Rozel 72, McLouth 51; Rozel 61, Chetopa 45; CHAMPIONSHIP—Rozel 65, Americus 57; Coach—Richard Boone
1959—BB—Rozel 82, Portis 55; Rozel 59, Prescott 47; CHAMPIONSHIP—Rozel 57, Ada 56; Coach—Richard Boone
1954—BB—Burdett 70, Kipp 48; Burdett 48, Simpson 44; CHAMPIONSHIP—Burdett 55, Plevna 47; Coach—Jay Frazier
1925—B—Deerfield 18, Burdett 17
