Huskers survive against Foxes

When Fox Lane’s Christopher Killion set up for a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the corner in front of his bench, it looked like the shot might end the Huskers’ 26-game home winning streak, leaving the entire gym holding its breath on Jan. 23.

The Husker faithful were able to exhale, however, as Killion’s shot, while appearing on target, just went off the rim. That allowed Yorktown, the No. 10-ranked Class AA team in the state, to escape with a 48-46 win, extend its home-winning streak to 27 games (its last home loss came Dec. 1, 2023) and improve to 11-0 this season.

“I was the one with my hand in front of [Killion], I was confident our team did what it was supposed to and if the shot fell, it fell,” Yorktown’s Franklin Ringel—who had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists—said. “Whether it fell or not, even if it goes in, our focus is on the next game. Win or lose, we go to the next game with the same mindset anyway.” 

Ringel had the right mindset from the start against Fox Lane, one that saw him score a team-high 6 points on three field goals in the first quarter, one Yorktown led at the end of 15-13.  

“On our team, whoever gets the ball and gets a good look at the rim, anybody who gets that look is going to take it,” Ringel said. “My shots just happened to be falling.” 

Yorktown started the second quarter with back-to-back threes by Connor Morhardt (19 points, 5 rebounds) and Jimmy Goff to go up 21-13 and after a Fox Lane hoop, Ringel converted on a layup to put the Huskers up 23-15.  

Fox Lane though tied it with an 8-0 run before a trey by Morhardt ended the run and put the Huskers up 26-23 with 2:26 remaining before halftime.  

“We were taking their punches, they were taking our punches, it was pretty even,” Morhardt said. “Credit to Lucas (Schrade). He locked down Arthur Shevick, who is a great player. Lucas was one of our key pieces tonight and all of our starting five gave a great effort.” 

Ringel, Colin Worden (5 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists), Schrade, Sean Davis (4 points), and Morhardt made up the Huskers’ starting five. 

“Jimmy Goff, Eamon Coney (3 points), and Jake Sgobbo, gave a great effort as well,” Morhardt said. “The bench also had great energy and was a big part of the preparation all week for the game. Overall, such a great team effort.” 

Morhardt stood out in the third quarter, when he led the Huskers with 11 points, including three treys. 

Highlighting the quarter was when after one of Morhardt’s threes, which gave Yorktown a 36-31 advantage, Yorktown’s student body, “The Crop”, boisterously chanted “MVP”. 

“It’s super cool,” Morhardt said of the “MVP” chant. “We have a great environment, a great home crowd, so it’s always great to hear that from them. I feel like though it’s more of a team effort, it’s never just one player.” 

Fox Lane responded in the heavyweight-boxing type game with a hoop, cutting Yorktown’s lead to 36-33, prompting Yorktown coach Mark Pavella to call timeout with 4:11 remaining in the third quarter. After that timeout, the Huskers scored the next 7 points, to go up 43-33.  

“I just told them to continue to get the stops we were getting on the defensive end and that would lead to the offense,” Pavella said. “We ran a couple of quick hitters and the guys executed the plays.” 

Fox Lane though came back in the final quarter before its game-winning 3-point shot attempt missed at the buzzer.  

“This [is] the first game that we had where it’s come down to the last minute, where we had to execute,” Pavella said. “So we definitely learned a lot tonight on how to finish a game. We are going to learn, move on, and improve from it.” 

Yorktown began the week with a 52-39 victory at Nyack on Jan. 19, led by Morhardt (15 points, 4 rebounds), Ringel (13 points, 8 rebounds, 8 blocks), and Worden (7 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists).