The Wayne High boys picked up a huge win on the road Tuesday, upsetting No. 2-ranked (Lincoln Journal Star) and previously undefeated O’Neill 55-53 in a makeup game at O’Neill High School.
The Blue Devils got out to an early led with Payten Gamble and Jack Evetovich both hitting a pair of shots to stake Wayne to an early 9-3 lead. The Eagles got within one before McBride hit a 3-poiner late in the first period to give Wayne a 14-10 advantage after one quarter.
O’Neill would cut the deficit to three at the half, then used a solid third quarter to take a 36-31 lead going into the final period.
Wayne bounced back in the final period after falling behind by seven, 45-38, midway through the final period. Evetovich hit a 3-pointer and followed an O’Neil miss with another basket to cut the deficit to 45-43. Later in the period, Evetovich hit his second trey of the game to give Wayne the lead for good at 48-47.
O’Neill hit a 3-pointer to pull within one and Grayson McBride hit 1-of-2 at the free throw line to make it a two-point game. O’Neill had a 3-point shot at the buzzer, but the shot was no good and Wayne escaped with the upset win.
Evetovich scored 17 points and had six rebounds for the 6-3 Blue Devils, while Gamble had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. McBride and Mason Lee each had nine points, Shea Sweetland added three and Beau Bowers and Will Anderson both had two.
The Blue Devils are home for games Thursday against Norfolk Catholic and Saturday against Boone Central/Newman Grove.
