Seniors Pave the Way for Patriots in Run to State
It took Millard South until January 2nd to take their first loss of the season, falling 75-71 to Millard North. That's when the road became rocky for the Patriots. They lost two of their next three and had to force two overtimes in order to grind out a win over Elkhorn South. But that didn’t slow them down, as they fought through these rough patches and punched the last ticket to the NSAA Class A state tournament. Head coach Tim Leuschen said the answer to their adversity was simple: toughness.
“Our guys have shown resiliency and toughness all season,” Leuschen said. “They have had some great practices this week.”
Part of the struggle was the absence of senior guard Tyrell Carroll. The Emporia State commit is averaging 17.8 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.4 steals per game. Carroll, who did not play in two of the three games in that early January skid, is assisted by senior Kyle Perry with 20.7 points per game. Perry is shooting 53% on the season. Coach Leuschen said that the pair have been the driving force behind the Patriots' path to Pinnacle Bank Arena.
“Tyrell makes everyone better by getting the basketball in the paint and finding open teammates,” Leuschen said. “Kyle raises the level of competitiveness and the will to win of all those around him.”
The 8th-seed Patriots will open state tournament play against top-seed Omaha Central. The two have met once this year; the Eagles took that win in stride by way of a 63-45 win. Leuschen said the squad learned from the loss and will be prepared to compete on Thursday.
“What makes Central so tough is they have so many offensive weapons,” Leuschen said. “We will have to execute better on both sides of the ball this time around.”
The Patriots and Eagles will go toe-to-toe to begin state tournament play on Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 2 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
All stats are per MaxPreps.