There was a good chance a game in December would have some importance for the Van-Far boys.

Van-Far vs Harrisburg District Title Photo Gallery

It was the Gary Filbert Classic in Mexico when the Indians lost 55-51 to Harrisburg, and then Van-Far worked its way to its most wins since 2020 at 22 before a 57-48 loss to the Bulldogs in the Class 2 District 5 championship game on Saturday at Clopton in Clarksville. After having a lead for most of the first half, Harrisburg scored 32 points in the second half for its first district title since 2018.

While the Indians (22-6) didn’t win their first title since that 2020 season, head coach Pat Connaway said his team was much less timid than in the first meeting, but the physicality still affected Van-Far.

"The physicality ended up having a toll on us," head coach Pat Connaway said. "There’s not very many times when you play like that, and we’re going to have more fouls on us than they do them.”

Not one but two Indians were bleeding and had to be taken out momentarily, including seniors Carter Jennings and Gage Gibson. Jennings sustained a cut around his eye while Gibson had a gash behind his ear. 

Connaway said Van-Far stepped up to the challenge by outrebounding Harrisburg 19-15, led by six rebounds from Pacey Reading and five each from Jennings and senior Nikos Connaway. This signaled the progression Pat Connaway wanted to see from his team after that December loss. The Indians sure saw progression this season in the form of only three losses since that point, a seven-game winning streak going into the district title game and a 45.9 points allowed per game — a program low in at least 12 years, beating the previous low of 46.9 in 2020.

“(The seniors) basically turned this program around —  nine wins as freshman to 22 this year,” Connaway said. “That’s what we told the kids in (the locker room). They’ve paved the way for this program, and we’ve just got to find new leadership.”

Not long after Nikos Connaway and Pacey Reading were each named unanimous first-team all-Eastern Missouri Conference players for Van-Far, they led the Indians in scoring. Connaway had 13 points, six assists and five rebounds in his final line as an Indian, and Reading had 21 points, six rebounds and five 3-pointers. Jennings was named as a second-team player and had six points and five rebounds.

Reading gave Van-Far a much hotter start than the first meeting against Harrisburg — when the Indians trailed 11-4 after one quarter and 32-21 at halftime — by hitting his first four 3-point attempts. Harrisburg kept on the Indians’ heels, though, including when Trace Combs hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 28-25 Van-Far at halftime.

“He got us going for a good start,” Connaway said. “But it was little things, they were totally clueless at the end of the first half, chucks one and makes it. It’s kind of a prayer, but defensively, with our head on straight, we take that away.”

Connaway said Van-Far’s defense is what hurt down the stretch since the Indians couldn’t keep Harrisburg in the 40s like they wanted. Bryce Ott finished with 15 points, five rebounds and four 3-pointers. Ott scored all eight points of a run that gave Harrisburg (18-11) a 52-44 lead with less than two minutes left in the game, hitting two 3-pointers. 

“We lost him twice in the corner wide open,” Connaway said. “That’s one thing a kid can do when his feet are set. He can shoot it.”

Combs led the floor with 23 points and three 3-pointers, and Wyatt Lind had 13 points. That pair in the post gave Van-Far problems in the first meeting by combining for 31 points and Ott made that total 43 points. Connaway said Van-Far didn’t have that third consistent scorer to match Harrisburg’s trio.

Van-Far’s defense couldn’t match the work Combs and Lind did in the post either, each coming up with buckets in the second half. Connaway said he might disagree with the judgment on some of those moves, thinking some it was traveling, but he stresses to his kids to hang tough on defense. The Indians also weren’t answering as well on the other end in the latter quarters.

“We talked about it before: Don’t worry about the officials. Just keep battling,” Connaway said. “We were good for 24 minutes. took some bad shots and forced some things that weren't really there."

Now Connaway is saying goodbye to an important group of seniors — kids he regards as his sons, even though only one is biologically his — he can’t wait to see what they do next.

“I can’t say enough about them. Three of the best kids I’ve coached,” Connaway said. “They’re great kids. Whether they go to college, whether they go into the workforce or whatever they decide to do, those three are going to be successful just by their work ethic, their demeanor and the way they are.”