Linn played a strong, strategic game on Friday against Fayette in the Harrisburg tourney’s seventh-place game and had the final shot. Unfortunately, the ball missed by inches, and the Wildcats fell 48-46.

“We just played them a week ago, so they were kind of fresh on our minds,” said Coach John Viehland. “They run a lot of stuff similar to us. Preparing for them was working on our stuff, and in that process, we kind of figured out how to run and guard that same approach because they run a lot of plays like ours. We’re still learning how to compete. Like I said at the beginning of the year, our schedule is not easy, so we’re learning how to compete. We’re just trying to keep our heads high, push through, and keep building, not only our game, but our relationships with each other. We win together, we lose together; it’s not one individual who loses the game. That’s a big thing, and I think they’re buying in. They want to get out of this losing thing, too. I mean, I think they’re tired of it.”

As the game unfolded, the Wildcats clung to a slim lead at 1:45 after a steal gave way to a Gus Peters layup. He led all scorers with 19, including a three-pointer. “Gus is the motor,” said Viehland. “He’s an amazing young man, athlete, and student. He plays with a lot of emotion, which I love, because I coach with a lot of emotion.”

Craig Laughlin also played significant but controlled minutes on the floor and made an impact. “Craig motivated the others, and having him back and building with him on the floor again is amazing,” said Viehland. “I’m trying to increase it slowly, but I also have to be careful. He has a career outside of basketball for the next four years. So I want him to succeed, not just on the basketball court, but, you know, in the future on the football field as well. So we’ve got to protect him; we don’t want to just throw him in there. We want to build him up toward when we’re at district time. That’s when he’ll be ready to unleash.”

Cody Heckman also had a solid game, going 3-3 at the line and finishing with 11 points. Colton Leivian added five with a trey, as Dawson Sprenger put in three, Kahne Brandt and Tony Peters added two apiece, and Aaron Starke scored one.

“Everyone seemed to feed off Craig being out there,” said Viehland. “Aaron Starke has been just unbelievable since Craig’s been back. I don’t know if it’s a confidence boost or just a good one-two punch with them out there together. They just seem to work well together, especially in practice.”

Linn entered halftime with a 25-19 lead, but Fayette turned the tables in the early part of the third, using an 8-2 run to take a 28-27 lead.

Later, back-to-back treys helped Linn cut the lead to 37-35 going into the final quarter.

Heckman’s bucket at 3:41 gave the Wildcats a 44-42 lead, and the game continued to be a back-and-forth affair until the final horn.

Nash Tyree delivered three assists to lead the team, and G. Peters had two.

On the glass, Starke posted nine rebounds to lead the team, as T. Peters grabbed six and G. Peters had five, followed by Heckman (4), Leivian (2), and Tyree (1).

Defensively, G. Peters counted three steals and a block, T. Peters added two steals and a block, and Starke posted a pair of blocks.

Against Hallsville in the consolation semis, Linn outscored the host team 25-11 in the fourth quarter to chip away at the lead, but ultimately lost 69-52.

Leivian hit three treys and went 4-4 at the line for 15 points to lead the Wildcats. Starke (3-4 FT) added 11, as T. Peters scored six, followed by Brandt (trey, 4), Tyree (trey, 3), Sprenger (3), and G. Peters, Preston Keilholz, and Laughlin (2 each).

Starke claimed five rebounds, and G. Peters and T. Peters finished with two each.

On the other end, Starke’s four steals paced the team as Leivian had three, and Sprenger posted two. T. Peters had the team’s lone block.

Linn opened with a 70-34 loss to Hallsville.

“Hallsville is a tough, well-coached team filled with quick, hard-working athletes,” said Viehland. “We hung with them in the first half, and then they kind of pulled away.”

By way of comparison, Viehland noted that Hallsville took Blair Oaks to overtime, while Linn lost to the Falcons by a significant margin. “Hanging with somebody that can compete at that level was a big improvement,” he added. “It was a rough game. Gus went down twice, hit his head, so I didn’t play him pretty much the whole half. Tony Peters took an elbow off the chin and put a bruise almost like a ping-pong ball on his cheekbone.”

Linn rallied around the sidelined players and went on a run, cutting a 34-point deficit to 12 with three minutes to play. “That was huge,” said Viehland. “We showed we can do things, but we just need to put a whole game together.”

On the night, G. Peters led with 11 points, including a 5-9 performance at the line, as Heckman (trey) and T. Peters each scored seven, Brandt put in three (trey), and Starke, Leivian, and Laughlin scored two apiece. Brandt, G. Peters, and Peyton Peters posted two assists each.

Rebounding was led by T. Peters with five, followed by Brandt and G. Peters (3 apiece), and Starke, Heckman, and Laughlin, each with two.

T. Peters counted two blocks, as G. Peters added three steals, and Starke posted two more.

Overall, Viehland is pleased with the effort and progress. “I’m happy with how hard they play,” he said. “Every night they go out and give it everything they got. They’re young. Sometimes I forget that, and honestly, I probably forget that way too much sometimes. I think the level of competition is a big jump, especially for sophomores. I think this tournament helps us a lot with growth.”