By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
One night won’t overshadow a season’s worth of accomplishments or stellar careers.
But in the short term, it’s a tough loss to swallow.
Thayer lost 64-59 to Lafayette County on Thursday night in the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown semifinals at JQH Arena.
In a matchup of one-loss teams, Lafayette County finished the game on a 10-2 run to deny Thayer a ticket to Friday’s Class 3 championship game.
“I won’t let one game take away from what these dudes did,” said Thayer coach Matt Pitts. “This might be the best team in the history of Thayer basketball, and we’ve had some good ones. I won’t harp on free throws or rebounds. We played our tails off tonight.”
Thayer, making its first final four appearance since 2014, had clear aspirations in Springfield this weekend: Win the program’s first state championship.
“There aren’t words to describe what these guys and our seniors have done for the program,” Pitts said. “They set out to win it. Our goal this year was to not only get here but win it. We came up short today, but I told them in the locker room that they’ve answered the bell with challenges their whole career.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Thayer plays Duchesne at noon Friday in the Class 3 3rd place game at Hammons Student Center.
Lafayette County goes for its first state championship at 4 p.m. Friday, facing traditional powerhouse Charleston at JQH Arena.
Dealing with early foul trouble, Lafayette played a 2-3 zone defense for much of Thursday’s contest.
“I thought their size and physicality bothered us a little bit, especially early,” Pitts said. “Then we got a second wind and I thought we could pull away from them a little bit. We just didn’t. I tip my hat to (Lafayette County). No shame in losing to those guys.”
After trailing by five at the start of the quarter, a Thayer surge put the Bobcats ahead 57-54 midway through the fourth.
But Lafayette County saved its best spurt for last, going ahead 60-59 on Josiah Golden’s basket with 13 seconds remaining.
Golden was fouled on the play and missed the ensuing free throw, but he got the offensive rebound and sank his next two free throws to put Lafayette County ahead 62-59 with nine seconds left.
Thayer (28-2 overall, No. 1-ranked in Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 3 state poll) missed a 3-pointer on its ensuing possession, and the Huskers sealed the win with two more free throws.
“We made some runs, couldn’t get away from them. They made some runs, we’d catch up,” said Thayer guard Gaige Pitts “We missed some free throws late and shots didn’t fall late. We missed a couple of opportunities late.”
Said guard Jordan Andrews, who led Thayer with 24 points: “It just came down to they made enough plays and we didn’t.”
Mason Rumsey led Lafayette County (30-1 overall, No. 4-ranked MBCA Class 3 poll) with 25 points. He picked up his fourth personal in the final seconds of the third quarter and returned to the game about 90 seconds into the fourth.
Thayer shot 22-for-52 overall from the field, including 3-for-13 on 3-point attempts. The Bobcats were 11-for-19 at the free throw line.
Thayer trailed most of the first half but rallied to tie the game (30-all) at halftime. The Bobcats started the fourth quarter on a 12-4 run.
“I couldn’t be prouder of these guys if we had won,” Matt Pitts said. “That was a battle. If that game is played 10 times between those two teams, it’d be pretty darn even.”
Lafayette County 64, Thayer 59
Thayer 19 11 15 14 — 59
Lafayette County 22 8 20 14 — 64
Thayer (28-2 overall) – Jordan Andrews 24, Keaton Nicholson 11, Aidan Burns 10, Gaige Pitts 10, Landry Pitts 4
Lafayette County (30-1 overall) – Mason Rumsey 25, Kyzer Gann-Vega 14, Josiah Golden 13, Cade Limback 6, Hunter McCoy 4, Jameel Merritt 2
