Patriots end one streak and start another

Scott Siemens Staff Reporter

It was an end and a beginning. On January 14, 2005 the Millard South boys basket- ball team lost to top ranked Bellevue West, and broke Class A record for losing the most games in a row. They also lost the record for the longest winning streak in Class A history, which now belongs to Bellevue West. Since the loss to Bellevue West the Patriots have won their last two games against Papillion LaVista South and Omaha Westside.

“Its tough being in the hole, but once we get one, we'll get five or six in a row,” Head Coach Steve Throne said last week before the two wins over the weekend.

Before the win against Papillion La-Vista South, the last game Millard South won was against Fremont in the 2003 district tournament where the Patriots finished second to Omaha Benson. At the end of the 2002-2003 season long time head coach Larry Ribble resigned with 514 career victories and a place in the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Steve Throne was brought in from Nebraska City Lourdes, a D-1 school with three state appearances.

The 2003-2004 Patriots looked prime for another run at state. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits as the season started. Most people don’t realize how long it takes for a new offense and defense to be installed. The Patriots struggled through the first half of the season, but played many games very close, in-

« cluding a heartbreaking half court buzzer beater against Omaha Benson late in the season.

This season the Patriots looked ready to break out of their funk returning two starters from last year’s team. Motivation is not an a problem for the Patriots ae “These are great kids and they really motivate themselves because they want to get better and win,” Throne said. Game by game the Patriots are steadily improving by making huge strides on the defensive side of the ball and demonstrating a hard work ethic in practice that is showing up in the Patriots recent games. The Patriots are playing good team basketball and playing unselfishly and working hard on how to play smarter in the fourth quarter.

“If we could finish games stronger, we would probably be a state qualifying team, that’s the one area where we need to improve tremendously,” an optimistic Throne said.

“We're working hard and you can see the improvement of this team,” Junior Andrew Page, who leads the Patriots in scoring and rebounding, said.

The Patriots will continue to improve on a daily basis and the future looks bright with a strong JV and Reserve team and has potential to be a Top 10 team next season.