The Creighton Prep Jr. Jays took down the Warriors in a physical matchup that ended with a final score of 76–70. The gymnasium was filled to the brim more than half an hour before the game even started. The City of Omaha notified Westside administrators that capacity had to be capped at 1,500 people. With that many people and both student sections full, the atmosphere was energetic all four quarters.
For senior Emre Gedik, the hostile environment was not a challenge to play in.
“You just got to block out everything,” Gedik said. “Our student section, their student section — you can’t let it affect you. You just got to be monotone, act like it doesn’t affect you.”
Going into the game, Gedik said the mindset was not the best after a long and grueling week to start the second semester and a previous game against Omaha Northwest.
“It starts in practice. We had a really bad week of practice. It started with that Northwest game,” Gedik said. “And I guess we were thinking about it. We were all thinking that we were going to come out great, but our practice habits were really bad this week, and that kind of led to a bad start.”
It was all Jays in the first quarter, jumping out to a 30–16 lead before coach Simons took a timeout. The Warriors attacked the paint but were unable to knock down shots or defend the Jays’ fast-break offense. The Warriors finally started to gain momentum late in the first half with some tough shots from Gedik and junior Jack Schafer.
Schafer averages only six to eight minutes per game, but his role in the first half was vital in keeping the Warriors in the game.
“My teammates always trust me to make the play, obviously knock down those two threes,” Schafer said. “But I honestly just want to play best for my team and try to do it right, and my team, we just got their confidence.”
The first half came to a close with the Jr. Jays up 48–30 and the Warriors looking for a way to turn the ship around in the second half.
The Warriors came out of the locker room looking like a completely different team. Gedik continued his momentum with more tough buckets right out of the gate to set the tone. London Dada knocked down several deep threes to cut the lead down to nine with 2:47 left in the third quarter. The quarter ended with the Jr. Jays holding a 61–57 lead.
“With the bad start, we came out in the second half and played really hard,” Gedik said.
Dada got the Warriors going quickly to start the fourth quarter with another three to make it 68–67 Jays with 4:12 remaining. After a hard-fought comeback, the Warriors were unable to complete the rally down the stretch.
With both teams splitting the season series at 1–1, Gedik believes the loss will have little long-term impact.
“It’s just a loss, you know. We won the Metros and they won this,” Gedik said. “But it does affect who we are, and I feel like even with the slots, it just gives us more fuel for the future.”
After the disappointing loss, Schafer said the team is ready to move forward and rebound.
“We are just trying to clear our heads and move on tomorrow,” Schafer said. “We got Southwest, just trying to move on and get to the next play.”
On Saturday, Jan. 9, the Warriors will travel to Lincoln Southwest to take on the No. 1 Silverhawks in their home gym. After the loss to the Jr. Jays, Gedik said the Warriors cannot lose focus.
“We can’t let Prep beat us twice. They can’t let us be bad tomorrow because of our loss tonight,” Gedik said. “And I feel like if we go out and play really well and not have this loss affect us tomorrow, I think we have a really good chance.”
