HAYS — Neither basketball team led by more than four points until the final three minutes, 32 seconds in the Class 1A Division-II semifinal state tournament game at Gross Memorial Coliseum on Friday night.
The Otis-Bison Cougars were able to get a little breathing room in the final quarter to beat Hope 54-47.
The Cougars were able to score on back-to-back possessions to close the third quarter ahead 39-35.
Dylan Wissman got a steal on an inbound pass to make the second bucket.
“Do you remember Wednesday night?” Otis-Bison head coach Alan Clark asked. “We had some steals and went down and scored and opened the game up. That was so big because they were up on us the whole time, so obviously that was big.”
Hope’s Dwight Davidson scored a basket to open the fourth quarter, but Otis-Bison went on a 8-1 run that gave them a 47-38 advantage.
Trevor Keller started the run with a jumper from the free-throw line, and Davidson followed by making 1 of 2 free throws.
Wissman scored a pull-up jumper, and Patrick Piper put in a pair of free throws and scored a layup on the following possession.
“It takes the whole team,” Clark said. “I’m not just talking about the guys on the court. I’m talking about the guys who are still in their warm-up tops because they practice against us every day. They make us better every day in practice.
“They make Keller better. They make Wissman better because they work so hard in practice.”
Keller, who iced the game with free throws with less than 1:20 remaining, led the Cougars with 18 points.
“It feels amazing,” Keller said of making the state championship game. “It is unbelievable. This team, we just keep fighting. We just play with more heart than, I don’t know. I’m so proud of those guys in the locker room right now. They’ve got so much heart.”
Wissman added 12 points, and Brandon Pechanec scored nine points and had eight rebounds.
Shilo Goracke led the Lions, who missed 14 of 16 3-point tries, with 17 points. Phillip Haslouer had a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Otis-Bison and Hope traded baskets for most of the first half with neither team leading by more than four.
Hope was 4-for-5 from the free-throw line in the first half, giving it a leg up against the Cougars, who didn’t shoot a free throw in the first half.
The Cougars shot 3-for-5 from 3-point range to make up for not going to the foul line.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Class 1A Division-II
State tournament

At Hays
Gross Memorial Coliseum

BOYS

Semifinal

Friday

Otis-Bison 54, Hope 47
HOPE (21-4)
     Nathan Lorson 1-6 0-0 2, Landon Cook 2-12 0-0 6, Phillip Haslouer 5-6 3-5 13, Shilo Goracke 7-11 3-3 17, Dwight Davidson 3-9 1-3 7, Glenn Morgan 0-1 0-0 0, Trevor Hostetter 1-1 0-0 2, Jacob Boeschiling 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-47 7-11 47.
OTIS-BISON (18-7)
     Trevor Keller 5-11 6-9 18, Dylan Wissman 6-12 0-0 12, Zach Stejskal 2-4 0-0 5, Patrick Piper 2-4 2-3 6, Brandon Pechanec 4-7 1-2 9, Tyler Maier 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 21-41 9-14 54.
Hope          18  11   6  12  —  47
Otis-Bison  18   9  12  15  —  54
     Three-point goals — Hope 2-16 (Cook 2-11, Lorson 0-2, Goracke 0-2, Davidson 0-1); Otis-Bison 3-6 (Keller 2-4, Stejskal 1-1, Wissman 0-1). Rebounds — Hope 24 (Hasiouer 10); Otis-Bison 28 (Pechanec 8). Assists — Hope 9 (Lorson 6); Otis-Bison 7 (Wissman 4). Turnovers — Hope 7; Otis-Bison 7. Total fouls — Hope 13; Otis-Bison 11.