Wauzeka-Steuben boys hoops fall to Southwestern, Lancaster
By Derick Kelly
The 2023-24 season began on Tuesday, Nov. 28 with the Wauzeka-Steuben Hornets facing the unenviable task of trying to replace a talented 2023 senior class that included two collegiate players (Seth Bunders, UW-Platteville) and Caydon Lomas (St. Mary’s (MN) for baseball).
The Wildcats had other plans though, as they took a 32-21 lead into halftime. The Hornets were unable to cut the deficit any closer than 8 until the last 1:17 of the game when a Cohen Redman layup made the score 58-51 in favor of the visitors from Hazel Green.
A basket by Southwestern junior Bryce Pearce made the score 60-51 with 1:02 left in the game when Hornet sophomore Cooper Lomas took a missed Wildcat free throw nearly coast-to-coast for a runner that drew a defensive foul for a shot at an old school three-point play that would have cut the Wildcat lead to 6 with 54 seconds left in the game.
Lomas’ free throw was no good though and Southwestern retrieved the rebound before making their free throws down the stretch to earn a 63-53 non-conference victory.
Next up for Wauzeka-Steuben was a trip to Lancaster on Monday night but it was all Flying Arrows as they defeated the Hornets 70-38 to drop the Hornets to 0-2 on the young season.
The Hornets open up Ridge & Valley Conference play by hosting De Soto on Thursday, Dec. 7 with game time scheduled for 7:15 p.m.