The 8th grade boys lost to the FM Jets, 31-28, on Monday night. The loss is inconsequential for the Blazers' upcoming tournament. The boys have secured the #2 seed and a first round bye. They will play the winner of TCN and Dixie next Tuesday at the Newton JH gym. The Blazers finish the season with an 11-5 record (9-2, WOAC).
The boys were shorthanded tonight and did a better job of shooting themselves in the foot in the first half then shooting the ball in the basket. Foul trouble early on only made matters worse and the team couldn't buy a bucket until midway through the 3rd quarter. The Blazers came alive in the fourth scoring 14 points, and it was a 5 point game with less than 20 seconds left.
The Blazers' Coltin Lipps hit a 3 to cut the lead to 2 points, and after a made free throw by the Jets, the score was 31-28. With 7 seconds to go the Blazers' Talon Bausman and Reggie Osborne III raced the ball across half court and called timeout. With 4 seconds remaining, Talon got a great look off a sideline out of bounds play, but it found the back of the rim.
Westin Lipps had 10 points and 5 rebounds. Mason Cordle had 6 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists. Coltin Lipps had 5 points, Bousman had 4 points to go with 5 boards, and Osborne had 3 points and an assist in ~3 minutes of time. Carson Laubenstien and Wyatt Gebhart fought hard in the loss.
It's been a great season for the Blazers and the program. For the first time in a long while, both 7th and 8th grade teams had winning records. The future is bright, and if the boys can get healthy, they're ready for a deep playoff run.
