VELMA When Velma-Alma senior Conner Sullivan hit a halfcourt shot at the halftime buzzer to trim Glencoes lead, the Panthers, who had gone 57-1 in the last 58 games had to be thinking oh no, here we go again.

That one loss was handed to them by the Comets in last years area tournament. This year, there would be no repeat, with Glencoe pulling away late to win 83-69 Thursday.

No. 14 Velma-Alma (21-7) put a scare in them anyway, hitting everything in the first half. Senior Jaz Gayanich went 4 of 5 from behind the arc and there wasnt too much going in for the No. 2 Panthers (27-0). They were relying heavily on their offensive rebounds to hold their lead and, with just a 56-50 lead at the end of the third quarter, the game was still up for grabs.

The collapse came quickly to open up the fourth quarter. With 7:28 left, Sullivan picked up his fourth foul. Less than a minute later, there was a scuffle in which a Glencoe player grabbed a rebound and elbowed sophomore Jake McGuire in the face. The Velma-Alma bench went livid, but there was no whistle.

Glencoe pushed the ball up the floor and, with 6:59 left, Alan Beck was called for his fourth foul when he looked like he had tied up a Glencoe attacker. It was a devastating blow, as Beck had been guarding Glencoes best player, Ty Lazenby, all game.

Alan has been our best defender all year, coach Kenny Bare said. That hurt Alan a little bit because he backed off some. When you get four fouls, you know if you foul out again, youre out.

It showed on the court with Lazenby following up a two-point performance in the third quarter with a 12-point fourth. He didnt miss a single shot in the final period after missing nine in the first three quarters.

He knows how to use his body and he had a big game for them, Bare said. He can weave his way through people and is really good at body contortion. We couldnt keep in front of him.

For the Velma-Alma senior class of Gayanich, Beck and Sullivan, it was the third consecutive state tournament appearance. Gayanich was the lone returning starter from last years team, which graduated eight seniors.

Not much was expected out of this years edition. Bare even admitted after the game that some of the players might not have thought this team was capable of achieving a state tournament berth. For Gayanich, being able to go toe to toe with one of Class As best teams in the state quarterfinal was special.

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