The Bobcat Boys of Western Plains High School entered Monday’s regional tournament with no wins from the regular season. The beauty of tournament play, though, is it levels the field. As far as the tourney is concerned, everyone starts with the same record and needs to win to advance.

Hopes were high before the tip, and the Bobcats warmed up with an aura of confidence that had yet to be shown during the season.

That confident almost carried them to the next round of play, but the team couldn’t finish the game.

They played the Sylvan Unified High School Mustangs in Sylvan Grove, and the Bobcats lost a heart breaker, 44-42.

“You guys have nothing to hang your heads about,” Head Coach Jerod Horchem told the team after the game. “The shots just went their way at the end. It’s been that way all season. Why should this game be any different?”

The Bobcats led nearly the entire game. They finished the first quarter down by only one point, and outscored the Mustangs 16-8 in the second, giving them a halftime lead of 24-17.

During the third quarter, the Bobcats maintained the lead, but the Mustangs weren’t giving up. They put in 14 points to the Bobcat 11. Still, the start of the fourth quarter had the Bobcats in the lead, 35-31.

The fourth quarter was a nail-biter. Less than 10 WPHS fans made the two-drive to be the stands, but those in attendance were on the edge of their seats.

Sylvan slowly began to pick away at the Bobcats’ lead, but WPHS continued to find a way to keep ahead.

It came down to the final seconds. Sylvan first tied the game and then followed up with another bucket to go ahead by two points.

Knowing a field goal could tie the game and a three-pointer could give the Bobcats their first victory, the boys of plains went to work.

The final shot didn’t fall.

A somber mood settled over the team in the locker room following the game, especially for the three seniors — Eric Dysinger, Shane Corsair and Thomas Heily — because they had just taken part in their final high school basketball game.

Through all the losses, they never stopped wanting to win, and that was something Horchem commended.

Corsair finished his final game with 12 points. Dysinger had 16.

Freshman Casey Kraus put up seven points, and juniors Joel Hernandez and Chase Rein rounded out the scoring with four and three points respectively.