A uncharacteristically low first-half shooting percentage proved too much to overcome for the New Franklin boys in a Class 2 state sectional shootout against longtime rival Westran last Tuesday night in Harrisburg. The Bulldogs comeback finished just two points behind, 48-46, after Hornets’ junior Cruze Haynes sank the winning shot at the last second to advance to the state quarterfinals.

It was the perfect ending for Haynes, who, in the first quarter, surpassed 1,000 career points.

But for the Bulldogs, it was the worst imaginable finish after an otherwise spectacular comeback.

Just three days after New Franklin made an incredible 72.7 percent of their shots in a near-flawless first half in the Class 2 District 8 championship on Saturday, the Bulldogs found themselves in the complete opposite situation. The shots were there and the offense was working, but the ball rimmed out and, more often than not, bounced into the hands of a Westran defender, as New Franklin made only eight offensive rebounds all night.

“I think it was just nervousness from not being in the sectionals before,” said first-year New Franklin coach Cory Nicholson after Tuesday’s sectional loss. “Those were shots that we normally make 99 times out of 100. There was just a little nervousness, not having been in that situation before. Once we got settled in, we looked pretty good. Sometimes that slow start is a killer.”

New Franklin won the tipoff and worked the ball around the offense for more than a minute but ultimately ended the opening possession with a turnover. Westran scored the first basket almost three minutes into the game as Haynes connected from the arc. New Franklin sophomore Noah Hackman answered with a triple on the Bulldogs’ next possession to tie the game, but it would turn out to be New Franklin’s only basket of the first quarter.

Westran, meanwhile, fell right into sync and scored 11 straight points in the bottom half of the opening period to hold a double-digit lead, 14-3, after eight minutes.

The Bulldogs finally began to find their footing in the second quarter, matching Westran 13-13, but still found themselves down by 11 at the mid-game break.

Nicholson told his players at halftime to keep fighting and whittle the margin down. “We are down by 11, and it’s just four possessions,” he explained to his team. “If we get one stop on the defensive end, it gives ourselves a chance on the other end. Keep battling. One stop at a time. Keep inching closer. Keep cutting that lead down, and we’ll have a chance at the end.”

And that’s just what New Franklin did. The Bulldogs outscored Westran 12-8 in the third quarter. Sophomore sharpshooter Jonah Bishop finally honed in from the arc after going scoreless in the first half to spark an 11-4 run over the first five minutes of the second half.

Another run at the start of the fourth quarter, highlighted by back-to-back threes by Bishop, brought the Bulldogs within two points of the lead. Bishop then sank his fourth triple in the half with 2:56 left to play to give New Franklin a one-point lead, 41-40.

“Jonah is such a talented shooter. He’s the best shooter in the gym,” Nicholson said. “He started off slow, but then he got some really good looks and started heating up. He’s a huge reason why we were in it.”

A bucket by Cruze a minute later flipped the one-point lead to Westran’s favor. Hornets’ junior Jordan Black then converted a pair of free throws with 27.3 seconds remaining to make it a three-point game.

With time running out, New Franklin sophomore Noah Hackman sank a triple from the left side in front of his team’s bench with 10 seconds on the clock to once again tie the game.

“I was screaming at him to shoot the ball the whole time,” Nicholson recalled. “He can really shoot. That was a huge shot, especially for a sophomore. He’s a really special player.”

Both teams called consecutive timeouts with 4.2 seconds left and the score tied at 46-46. Westran had possession and inbounded in front of its bench, putting the ball in the hands of Haynes, who had already scored 22 of his team’s 46 points. He made a move inside and banked the ball off the glass for the game-winning shot just before the buzzer sounded, sending the Hornets to the quarterfinals.

“We knew who they wanted to go to,” Nicholson said about the strategy coming out of the last timeout. “He’s a great player. We knew where the ball was going to go. Credit to him, that’s a pretty tough shot to hit, especially considering the situation.”

Haynes finished with a game-high 24 points with three 3-pointers, the only Hornet to post double figures. Black added seven, followed by sophomore Hampton Summers with six and senior Hayden Chapman with five.

The Bulldogs had to mount much of their fourth-quarter comeback without the sure hands of Caden Schlotzhauer. The senior picked up his fourth foul just 40 seconds into the final period and sat out the next few minutes, finally returning for the final 3:50 of the game.

“It makes it tough,” Nicholson said. “There were a couple of decisions that maybe weren’t the best choices. But he played hard.”

Schlotzhauer scored one last time on a drive and layup with 28.8 seconds left to finish with a team-high 17 points. He was one of five seniors to walk off the court for the final time on Tuesday. Those included starters Landon Shaw and Lane Hackman, who scored three and four points, respectively, along with Nolan McGowan and Haven Singleton. Shaw also pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds.

“Those guys mean more to me than they know. Five really good kids. The way they come in every day. How nice they are. How good they are with my kids,” Nicholson stated emotionally after the game. “It’s just hard not to get choked up talking about them. I’m really proud of them.”

Despite losing those five seniors to graduation, the Bulldogs have a strong core of shooters who will continue to make their marks next season. Those include Bishop, who sank four 3-pointers in the second half of Tuesday’s sectional, and Noah Hackman, who scored nine, including the game-tying three on 3-for-6 shooting from the arc.

While it was a shocking and disappointing end for New Franklin, the Bulldogs still compiled a highly respectable 20-9 record that included a district championship and a second-place finish in the Glasgow Tournament. That runner-up trophy was the result of the first of three narrow losses to Westran this season. The Hornets went 3-0 against the Bulldogs, winning all by tight margins, the largest being seven points in the Sturgeon Tournament.

Westran’s sectional win pitted the Hornets against District 5 winner Clopton (17-13) in Saturday afternoon’s quarterfinal. The Hawks escaped the sectional round with an overtime win over Schuyler County. Westran finished nine points shy of advancing into the Class 2 Final Four with a 49-40 loss to Clopton in Hannibal.