Even after coaching in three "Sweet Sixteen" State Tournaments, the State Championship game, and the Kentucky-Indiana All-Stars, Coach Mike Code won his first ever district championship as a head coach with a come-from-behind 57-55 win over the Scott Eagles in the Championship Game of the 37th District tournament.
The Scott Eagles dominated the first half from the opening tip, blowing out to a 21-12 first quarter lead, which increased to 31-20 at the half after having been as much as fourteen late in the second period.
These New Era Mustangs have been known to dig out of some deep holes this season but never against a quality opponent like Scott, or in such a high profile game.
The first three minutes of the second half would be crucial in assertaining whether the Mustangs would put themselves in a position to rally back and make a game of it or sit back and watch the Scott Eagles cut down the Middle School nets and claim the advantageous draw position of going into next week's 10th Region Tournament a winner.
A quick Jimmy Uebel bucket to start the second half would set the tone for the Mustangs' comeback effort and would spearhead a 12-1 Mustangs run that would tie the game with 3:07 left to play in the third period. Uebel would personally score eight points in the pivitol third quarter after going scoreless in the first half, and Nathan Mutsch would produce six, his first scoring tallies of the night, and Troy Cooper two, as the Mustangs found themselves down only two points 38-36 going into the fourth quarter with the 37th Distirct Title on the line.
The Mustangs and Eagles would go toe to toe in the fourth period, with the Mustangs taking their first lead of the game since the early moments of the contest at 40-38 with 6:46 to go, but would fall behind at 49-48 at the 3:01 mark. The Mustangs would again muster a rally which would put them back in front by as much as four points at 53-49 just under a minute before Nathan Sharp would bury an NBA three to draw the Eagles to within a point at 53-52 with 48 seconds to play. Brossart would again apparently have the game salted away by extending their lead to five points at 57-52 with :21 to play on the continued good free-throw shooting of Uebel and Mutsch who combined to hit eight of eight blue-chip free-throws down the stretch.
Another Nathan Sharp long-distance arial would make it 57-55 with time running out and the Eagles out of time outs, while the Mustangs allowed the time to expire and emerged as 37th District Champions.
Kyle Lubbers played a great ballgame, scoring seven points when we needed them most in the fourth quarter, with several buckets coming on Brad Seiter and Jimmy Uebel assists. Lubbers would be named tournament MVP capping off the career of this freshman project turned tournament hero who took the Scotty Ruth path to high school hoops stardom. Uebel, Mutsch, and Troy Cooper were also named to the All-Tournament team.
Scott Super-Sub Sophomore Danny Miller led all Scott scorers with 14 points and made a major contribution as the Eagles just missed scoring the district title in their first-appearance in a 10th Region district tournament.
Box Score Mustangs: Kidney 2-0-0/0-4,
Seiter 0-0-2/2-2, Franzen 1-0-0/0-2,
Lubbers 7-0-1/2-15, Uebel 1-0-8/12-10,
Mutsch 3-0-8/8-14, Cooper 5-0-0/0-10
Box Score Eagles: Howard 4-0-2/3-10,
McCord 0-1-0/0-3, Quigley 5-0-0/2-10,
Whitehead 0-1-1/2-4, Sharp 2-3-1/2-11,
Miller 2-2-4/6-14
Totals Mustangs: 19-0-19/24-57 18-11
Totals Eagles: 13-7- 8/15-55 15-13
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