In a back-and-forth game for the Division 2 Sectional Final at Elkhorn Area High School, the Spartans and the Falcons, the seventh-ranked team in the state, went down to the final minute.
However, clutch free shooting from Whitnall’s Myles Herro gave the Falcons a 69-66 win, ending the Spartans’ season on Saturday, March 11.
“That’s our team, these kids play for each other, they play for their team,” said McFarland head coach Jeff Meinholdt. “They knew what was on the line, our kids didn’t quit, unfortunately Whitnall made a couple more plays than we did.”
Trailing for most of the game, McFarland senior Deven Kulp gave the Spartans a 52-51 lead with seven minutes left off a 3-point play. Both teams traded baskets before Whitnall took a 61-58 lead off scores from Austin Herro and Jack Lutz with three minutes left.
The tide really turned in the Falcons’ favor when a McFarland turnover off a press break resulted in a slam dunk from 6-foot-9 Ethan Thomas to put Whitnall up five.
However, McFarland senior Aidan Chislom went right to work, scoring on a drive to the basket with two minutes left, bringing the lead back to one possession.
“That was one thing we tried to emphasize with them in the second half was to get to the rim because we felt at times, we had Whitnall on the ropes with our ability to get to the rim and we told our guys not to settle and get to the rim,” said Meinholdt.
With Whitnall running out the clock, McFarland sent the Falcons to the free throw where Josh Kaye made 1-2 free throws to make the score a two-possession game. McFarland senior Dadon Gillen was then fouled on the Spartans’ next possession, but made both free throws, bringing the score to 64-62.
Myles Herro was then fouled off the inbounds pass and sent to the free throw line. Herro, who was 0-2 in the game from the stripe, calmly made both free throws to increase the lead back to two possessions.
McFarland went down and cut the lead back to a possession when senior Kyle Kussow found Gillen for a basket. Myles Herro was fouled again, but made both free throws to give Whitnall a 68-64 lead with under 30 seconds left.
Gillen, who spent most of the game covering the 6-foot-9 Thomas, continued to put pressure on Whitnall. The senior forward scored off an offensive putback with five seconds left to bring the score to 68-66.
“Dadon’s not going to back down from anybody,” said Meinholdt. “It doesn’t matter to him if he’s 6’9” or whatever, he’s always going to go to battle for us. He left everything out on the floor.”
Myles Herro would again be fouled and sent to the line. The Whitnall senior, who is the younger brother of Tyler Herro, a professional basketball player for the Miami Heat, made his first free throw to put Whitnall up 69-66.
On the second free throw, the ball hit the rim and bounced out. However, Whitnall grabbed the offensive rebound, dribbled out the clock and punched its ticket to state.
Jack Lutz of Whitnall scored a game-high 22 points, recording 14 points in the second half. Austin Herro scored 15, Thomas recorded 13 and Myles Herro reached double figures with 12 points for the Falcons.
For the Spartans, Chislom led McFarland with 17 points. Gillen added 16, senior Deven Kulp scored 15 and junior Andrew Kelley reached double figures with 10 points. Kussow (4), junior Kaden Meinholdt (3) and junior Braylan Roder (1) also contributed for McFarland.
McFarland finishes the year with 24-4.
“There are some teams that just want to get 10 wins in a season, and we got 24, so it's a huge accomplishment for our team and our program,” said Meinholdt.
The seniors that graduate from the team are Dadon Gillen, Aidan Chislom, Deven Kulp, Kyle Kussow, Evan Dean, Camden Ross and Tradyn Randolph.
