Cyclones get back to ‘The Well’ in year of big moments
HARLAN -- The 2019-20 boys basketball season was one of special moments for Harlan Community.
There were big-time shots, exciting victories and a new career milestone for Coach Mitch Osborn.
And despite returning just one starter from last year’s 11-9 campaign, the Cyclones improved statistically across the board en route to earning the program’s first state tournament berth since 2014.
When it was all said and done, HCHS finished 18-7 overall and 9-1 in Hawkeye Ten Conference play, placing second for its highest league finish in four years.
The Cyclones went 9-2 in single-digit outcomes and 2-1 in overtime affairs. In the postseason, they beat two conference rivals for the third time each - one in overtime, one on a last-second putback - and beat another conference rival on its home floor by 13 points.
The season ended in the first round of the Class 3A state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena when eventual state champion Norwalk, led by Iowa’s Mr. Basketball Bowen Born, handed HCHS a 72-37 defeat.
Magic moments:
In the fourth game of the season, point guard Connor Bruck set the tone for an outstanding senior year, hitting a pull-up, 30-foot jump shot to force overtime against Denison in a game Harlan would win 68-60.
More great outcomes followed. On December 21, a shorthanded Cyclone squad won at Glenwood for the first time in five tries, 72-66, to reach Christmas break with a 6-0 record.
In January, the Cyclones erased a 15-point third-quarter deficit in a matter of four minutes and beat Lewis Central 76-67. They ended the month with a 68-60 victory at Creston, making Osborn just the fourth coach in state history to reach 700 career wins.
There were some bumps along the way, including losses by 15 points to Abraham Lincoln, 24 at Ballard and 25 in the Nebraska Prep Classic vs. Bishop Neumann, but the Cyclones showed great toughness in their substate run to Des Moines.
Facing Atlantic for a third straight Monday, HCHS outlasted a gritty Trojan team 62-59 in OT, then got 41 points from Bruck in an 84-71 win at Glenwood. Bruck made a school record 20 free throws (in 20 attempts) and the team shot 39-of-43 from the line. One more nail-biter followed in Atlantic as Connor Frame’s last-second tip-in lifted the Cyclones to a 60-58 substate final victory over Denison-Schleswig.
Stats:
Seniors Bruck (16.7 ppg), Johnathan Monson (11.6) and Michael Heithoff (11.2) gave the Cyclones three consistent double-digit scorers throughout the season and Monson also grabbed 8.5 rebounds a night as a 6-foot-1 jack-of-all-trades. Bruck was named first-team All-Hawkeye Ten, All-Substate 8 and third-team All-State.
The Cyclones lacked height but were athletic overall and often at their best in transition, improving their scoring average from 57.5 points per game last year to 64.1. They shot five percent better from the field (47.5), made 96 more free throws (352) and hit 27 more three-pointers (159). HCHS outrebounded opponents by a margin of 5.5 per game.
Looking ahead:
Despite losing their top three scorers, next year’s Cyclones will return five varsity letter winners who all contributed mightily at one point or another during the season. Three players - Michael Erlemeier, Connor Frame and Will McLaughlin - gained starting experience this year. The junior varsity and freshmen teams, meanwhile, combined to go 31-7, so expectations will remain high.