The Auburn Bulldogs boys’ basketball team ended its season Tuesday night, Feb. 19, with a 42-58 loss to Falls City in Subdistrict D1-1 play at Johnson-Brock High School. Auburn ended the season with a 4-19 record.
Coach Roth’s Comments
Coach Bryce Roth said, “It was a tough way to end our season after we played so well for about three quarters. Falls City is a solid basketball team and it was going to take a sound effort from us to beat them.
“From an effort standpoint we really were proud of how hard the boys competed. We just got caught in some tough situations with Caleb Nelson and Tyler Collin both getting into foul trouble during the first half. We struggled to score in the second quarter (6 points) but we still were in great position–only down 22-26 at halftime.
“The second half, we just never could quite get over the hump. We played well enough at times, bringing the deficit to a one-possession game, but they hit a couple of big shots to keep us just out of reach. We needed to string a few more defensive stops together.  The other end of the situation is that we needed to handle our offensive possessions a little bit better–by taking better shots, as well as eliminating unforced turnovers. When this group figures that out, we will be a tough team to beat and we will also find ourselves finishing games and advancing in the postseason.
“I’m very proud of how hard this team has battled and improved throughout the season. We had some unfortunate injuries and adversity we had to battle through, but every team has that. I’m just proud of how hard the guys continued to play and how much better they got from our 16 freshmen to our two seniors. This was a fantastic group of young guys and they are just a great group to teach.
“We also say goodbye to two seniors: Tyler Collin and Kamron Fender. We want to recognize them for their four years of hard work and dedication to the program. They will be missed.”
Three Bulldogs scored in double figures: Caleb Nelson, 13 points; Fender, 12 points and Collin, 10 points. Also scoring for Auburn were: Donavan Halfhill, 4 points and TJ Wynn, 3 points.
Fender and Halfhill each pulled down 6 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Collin and John Lambert each had 3 rebounds; Nelson 2 and Easton Dauel 1.
Collin led Auburn with 6 assists. Fender and Nelson each had 2 assists and Wynn had 1 assist.
Fender led the Bulldogs with 3 steals. Dauel and Wynn each had 2 steals; while Collin, Lambert and Nelson each had 1 steal.
Nelson had 2 blocks; while Collin and Lambert each had 1 block.
Auburn shot 16-of-27 from two-point range; 2-of-13 from three-point range; and made 4-of-10 free throws. Falls City shot 10-of-27 from two-point range; 4-of-9 from three-point range; and made 26-of-35 free throws. Auburn was outrebounded 21-to-26. The Bulldogs had 16 turnovers to 14 for Falls City.
In the other Subdistrict C1-1 semifinal, Syracuse defeated Louisville, 68-54.
Falls City won the subdistrict Friday night, Feb. 22, with a 52-43 over Syracuse. The subdistrict final was delayed one night because of the snowstorm.
Falls City fell one win short of the Class C-1 state tournament, losing 45-51 to Lincoln Christian Monday night, Feb. 25, in the C1-1 district final at Nebraska City High School. Falls City ended its season with a 23-4 record while Lincoln Christian will take a 17-9 record to the Class C-1 state tournament this week.