Hart’s Superb Season Ends With Loss to Claremont

There were neither hanging of heads nor words of discontent. The Hart High boys’ basketball team had too much of which to be proud.

The Indians did lose to Claremont, 70-67, Tuesday night in the second round of the Southern Section Division I-A basketball playoffs before about 1,400 at Hart. However, instead of gripes about calls that did not go their way or plays gone awry, the Indians instead focused on all that went right in a superb season.

“I’m just proud as heck of this team; they have nothing to be ashamed of,” Hart first-year Coach Mike May said. “We played a good game; we just missed some key shots and free throws down the stretch.

“It has been a pleasure for me to work with the great bunch of kids we have here. I’m just sorry to see this thing end for them right now.”

Hart missed a chance to tie the game at the final buzzer when standout forward and senior co-captain Matt Steffe (21 points, seven rebounds) could not make a three-point goal attempt from the top of the key. The shot hit the front of the rim and bounced away. It was one of three attempted three-pointers the Indians missed in the game’s final minute.

“We played tough tonight like we did all season long,” said senior guard Brandon Moore, who scored 11 points. “Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce the way you want it to, and that’s tough, but we had a good season.”

Foothill League champion Hart finished 18-8. The Indians enjoyed a 12-game winning streak at one point and ran roughshod over the competition in the final two months of the season, going 16-3.

Claremont, champion of the Baseline League, improved to 21-6. The Wolfpack will play Mater Dei (28-1) in the quarterfinals Friday night.

Claremont opened the game with a 6-0 run, but Hart countered with a 10-2 run of its own. The game was tied, 19-19, at the end of the first quarter, with the Wolfpack holding a six-point lead (40-34) at halftime.

Led by swingman Grant Rice (20 points), the Wolfpack led, 53-48, at the end of the third quarter. Hart tied the game with 2 minutes 49 seconds left in the game on two free throws by Eric Spindt, but the Indians were unable to grab the lead.

Junior center Cody Patterson also played a strong game for Hart with 18 points and 11 rebounds.