After quarterfinal heartbreaker, Hillcrest knows it laid a foundation for more success
BOLIVAR — As the final shot was thrown up as the final horn sounded, Hillcrest senior star Cole Griesemer crouched down with his jersey over his face. Down four in overtime, it didn't matter if the shot went through or not.
The dream of a semifinal appearance suddenly dissolved. An overtime heartbreaker saw Jefferson City advance with a 60-56 win over Hillcrest on Friday night in Bolivar.
It was the final time Griesemer would wear the uniform that he dreamt of wearing while growing up. He idolized the likes of Dorial Green-Beckham and Brady Petry as he sat in the Hillcrest stands and one day wanted to return the Hornets to glory.
As Griesemer crouched down on the Southwest Baptist court with the pain and the tears setting in, he wasn't thinking of the impact he made. When he wakes up the next morning, the realization might set in — Griesemer left Hillcrest in a better place and someday, it will be a younger generation of Hornets saying they were inspired by his play.
"This meant everything," Griesemer, the last player to leave the Hornets' locker room 30 minutes, said. "I always thought that I wanna be somebody that somebody looks up to one day. It means everything because I was there one time too."
The Hornets' season came to an end with an 18-12 record and its first district championship since the program finished second in the state in 2015.
In the fourth year under head coach Jordan Fielding, a Hillcrest grad, the program's gone from 7-19 in he and Griesemer's first year together to one regulation stop away from advancing to the state semifinals.
"This is exactly where I want to be — with our players, administration and our students," Fielding said. "This is home. I hope the guys feel like this is our home and we're going to fight for our home."
Hillcrest came back from an eight-point deficit to take a one-point lead into the fourth. From there, the game was a back-and-forth. The Jays got a layup to fall with 3.4 seconds left in regulation to tie it up before the Hornets couldn't get a shot up as the game went to overtime tied at 48.
Jefferson City created its separation when it got a bucket to fall with just over a minute left and quickly forced a Hornets turnover. Jays sophomore Jordan Martin, an Arkansas baseball commit, slammed in a dunk with 1:04 left to go up by five. The Jays hit their free throws in the final minute to hold on for the win.
Upon entry to the postgame locker room, Fielding said he was at a loss for words.
"That was the hardest one I've done in four years," Fielding said. "To be so close and not come out on top, it was tough. I just told them that I love them and was telling them to love each other."
Despite the loss, Fielding believes the foundation is in place for Hillcrest to be a challenger for years to come. Younger players like Taner Hicks, Ethan Weaver and others were major contributors to the Hornets' run and will be a part of more in future years.
Fielding also acknowledged that it wouldn't have been possible without the love and commitment that his seniors showed throughout their four years. Griesemer and Braxton Baker had been with him since his first year as head coach with Amarre Clark standing out in his lone year with the program as a senior following his move from Parkview.
Great days are ahead for the Hillcrest boys' basketball program. It was a dream of Griesemer's to make Hillcrest a winner once again and he lived it out as his Hornets career came to a close.
"I just wanted to be successful," Griesemer said. "We were one game short of making the state semifinals, we got a district championship. I'm going to look at the bright side of things. We did a lot."
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Hillcrest basketball falls to Jefferson City in Class 5 state quarters
