HartEm Stags lose heartbreaker
39-38 at State
[February 09, 2026]
The Hartsburg-Emden Stags lost a heartbreaker on Saturday
afternoon in the 2026 IESA 8th Grade Class 1A State Tournament at
Warrensburg-Latham High School.
The Stags overcame a nine-point deficit early in the fourth quarter
but came up just shy of a victory, falling 39-38 to the Peoria
Limestone Walters Rockets.
They only play six minute quarters in these games. So the comeback
they staged was impressive despite the heartbreaking ending.
This loss will sting for a long time. However, these boys are a
hard-working and resilient group of young men. They have come a long
way in their basketball journey on and off the court.
Coach Ron Spencer has done a tremendous job with these young
athletes and he deserves a ton of credit for leading the program in
a positive direction. From not winning a game in fifth grade to
Elite 8 during their eighth grade season is highly impressive.
“We did not play as well as we are capable of playing,” said
Spencer, “but even through those moments we still found a way to
compete and come back to make it a game at the end. It just shows
the competitiveness that lay within them. These young men have put
in so much time in the last four years to improve and distance
themselves from that no-win fifth grade season and to finish their
junior high career playing in the IESA Elite 8 is pretty special. As
their coach and a HARTEM Alumni, I am just so proud of them and look
forward to them taking the floor at the high school level and
bringing our high school program back like they have our junior high
program. Also I want to wish WLB the very best and hope they make it
three in a row.”
First quarter
The scoring opened with Owen Ferguson sinking two free throws to put
the Stags on top first. After falling behind 4-2, Raef Whitted tied
the game. Down by two points again, it was William Boerma for the
Stags with the next bucket in the lane, tying the game 6-6. Ferguson
put Hartsburg-Emden up 8-6 with his basket in another Stags
possession. Graham Hampton sank a free throw with thirty seconds
left to put the Stags up 9-6.
Second quarter
The Rockets came back to take a 10-9 lead. The quarter was pretty
intense with the two teams trading buckets and keeping the lead to a
one-point margin. Bo Korth sank a three-pointer for the Rockets with
34.0 seconds left and this gave Limestone Walters an 18-14
advantage. Just before the buzzer Ryan Wrage scored in the paint and
the halftime lead was down to 18-16. That was a much needed bucket
for the Stags heading to the locker room.
Third quarter
Ferguson tied the game eight seconds into the third quarter but then
those Rockets went on a run. Seven unanswered points, that included
a three, and the lead was back in the Rockets court, 25-18. At the
4:09 mark a technical was issued to the Rockets and this gave the
Stags a boost as Ferguson sank the two free throws and Wrage scored
on the possession that was awarded to them. The Rockets were hot
from the outside though and another three put them up 30-22 with
three minutes left in the quarter. Whitted’s next basket helped the
cause, but then it was another three from the Rockets. Thankfully, a
Stags steal and a basket by Whitted before the quarter ended trimmed
the lead to 33-26.
Fourth quarter
The Stags do not know the meaning of the word “quit” and that’s a
good thing! With the Rockets scoring first in the fourth quarter,
the lead grew to 35-26 but still the Stags seemed unfazed. Whitted
will start the rally with a bucket then Ferguson will add two points
off the offensive rebound he fought so hard to get. Ferguson
continued to lead the charge by draining a three and Whitted added
another bucket at the 3:22 mark and it was a brand new game tied
35-35. The Stags fan section was already exploding with applause and
less than a minute later they would raise the rafters of “The
Birdcage” when Ferguson gave the orange and black a 37-35 lead.
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The next two minutes and thirty-six seconds would be nerve-wracking.
First, one free throw by the Rockets. Then with 30.2 seconds left,
two free throws by the Rockets. This put the Rockets up by one and
the Stags would not score from the field again. The Rockets stole
the ball with 19.0 seconds on the clock on a pass meant for Ferguson
in the lane. With 14.3 seconds on the clock the Rockets increased
the lead to two points on another free throw.
The Stags had one more possession and as Wrage collected the pass
from the corner, he took one bounce and made a spin move towards the
basket and was fouled. It was a great move. Wrage went to the line
with 4.9 seconds left. He bounced the first one in after it grazed
the front of the rim but the second one hit the back of the iron,
like Jay Hardin says, and sadly it bounced up and away from the
bucket. Four guys had their hands on that rebound as the ball went
high in the air and took one bounce on the gym floor before heading
towards the Stags cheerleaders and out of bounds. But Ferguson raced
to the sidelines and with his best effort he saved the ball behind
his back. Sadly, for the Stags the ball landed into the hands of
Carter Dicce and he quickly passed to his teammate, Cameron Durham,
who dribbled the remaining few seconds off the clock.
Heartbreaking is an understatement. It’s a 39-38 loss that the
Hartsburg-Emden boys will never forget but they still have a lot to
be proud of.
Keep an eye on this group in high school.
Owen Ferguson gave it all he had and led all scorers with 17 points.
Raef Whitted reached double-figures with 11 points and he never gave
up the fight either.
Nobody did.
Hartsburg-Emden finishes the season with a 16-8 record.
Peoria Limestone Walters (22-5) went on to get crushed 54-21 by the
West Lincoln Broadwell Wolverines later in the evening. The Rockets
will play for third place on Thursday, February 12, 2026.
Worth mentioning is the fact that Stags seventh grader Rhett Zinser
did not play but cheered for his team from the bench. Zinser broke
his wrist last Sunday at home and he was missed on the court.
According to Coach Spencer, “Depending on the situation and game he
is one of the first players off the bench.” Spencer added that
Zinser would’ve played in the postseason.
Definitely a tough break for Zinser, who was a big factor in the
seventh grade team’s success.
Lookout for the future of Stags basketball.
Congratulations, Stags, on reaching the Elite 8.
The 2025-26 season was one to remember.
Hartsburg-Emden 38
Ferguson 17
Whitted 11
Wrage 7
Boerma 2
Hampton 1
Peoria Limestone Walters 39
Korth 11
Durham 10
Strausbaugh 8
Fehl 8
Thomason 2
[Teena Lowery]
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