By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

WaKEENEY -- With 3.8 seconds left in overtime, Hill City senior Anthony McDonald drove to the lane and drew a foul. He stepped to the free throw line with the Ringnecks trailing Ellis, 47-46.

"I couldn't make my hands stay still," McDonald said. "I was shaking. I head the crowd roar and was just hoping that I would make it."

McDonald stepped up and hit both free throws. Ellis advanced the ball past half court and Railroader junior guard Jacob Kinderknecht's buzzer-beating 3-pointer bounced off the front rim, securing a 48-47 Hill City victory. The finish capped a wild Class 2A sub-state championship contest in front of an overflow crowd Saturday night at Trego Community High School. Hill City moved to 21-2 and advanced to the state tournament this week at Manhattan's Bramlage Coliseum, while Ellis, under first-year head coach Dave Wildeman, finished at 16-7.

"We had a couple breakdowns, but I don't think we played to our capabilities offensively," Keith Riley, in his 41st year as Hill City's coach, said. "We have got to do a better job, but the thing is we hung there and hung in there and hung in there."

Hill City trailed nearly all fourth quarter and was down 44-42 when Ringneck junior guard Reggie Jordan grabbed a defensive rebound and drew a foul. Jordan hit both free throws with 24.3 seconds left to tie the game. Ellis had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but Ellis senior Gideon Fuchs missed a 3-pointer.

"I was walking up to the line, I was nervous," Jordan said. "My heart was pounding. The crowd was going wild. I knew I had to settle down, just get my rhythm, put it in the hole. That's what I did. It was tough. I blocked everybody out of the gym and just focused on the middle of the rim and put it in."

Hill City, led by a strong defense, continued to win close games and erased a 49-42 loss to Ellis on Jan. 15. The Ringnecks, with no player taller than 6-foot-1, average 53 points a contest, and went 11-2 in games decided by single figures, including 5-1 in contests within five points. Jordan and senior Corey Lewis led Hill City with 11 points.

"Defense first, then offense," Jordan said. "Defense is the first thing out of everything. Sometimes, our offense is not good and then we rely on our defense. If our defense is good, our offense is eventually going to pick up."

Ellis took a 9-5 lead after the first quarter and Hill City led 26-17 at halftime. In the third quarter, though, the Ringnecks missed their first seven shots and Ellis took a 33-31 lead. Ellis senior forward Matt Erbert, 6-foot-5, 300 pounds and a Pittsburg State University football signee, led the Railroaders' comeback. Erbert, one of most athletic big men in Kansas and Ellis' leader with 17 points and eight rebounds a contest, hit a 3 with 22 seconds left in the third quarter. Then, Erbert made a steal, dribbled the ball down court and hit a running trey at the third quarter buzzer. Erbert hit 4 3s Saturday, two fewer than he had hit all season.

"That was (disheartening)," McDonald said. "Seeing it back-to-back like that, thinking who in the world can make one shot like that?"

Ellis led nearly all fourth quarter before Jordan tied the game on his free throws.

"You never know on free throws," Riley said. "You may have your best free throw shooter at the line and miss them. It says a lot for him because he stepped up there and got them both down and they were just huge, huge. You just can't say enough about it."

In the overtime, Erbert, who had a game-high 21 points, hit a jumper from the top of the arc for a 46-44 lead, then Lewis tied the game at 46 on a jumper.

"Basically, our coach was like, 'we have faith in you and each other. We just had a little prayer with the five of us, 'we have to finish this, we are family, we started this, we have to finish it," Jordan said.

Jordan had a chance to give Hill City a lead when he picked off a steal and drove to the lane. He missed a layup and Ellis senior Ryan Weber grabbed the rebound, was fouled and converted one of two free throws with 24.8 seconds remaining. Hill City ran "Five and Drive Offense" and either pass down low or take a shot. Jordan was expected to drive, but McDonald had the ball with less than 10 seconds left and dribbled inside.

"Somehow I headed up with the ball and I just went," he said. "I had no idea what the clock said. I just knew it was going low."

McDonald overcame his nervousness and sunk both foul shots, completing the comeback and allowing Hill City to head to state.

"We got behind, but the kids fought back," Riley said. "Boy, they just played hard. That's not coaching. That's just the kids' attitude. They just played hard. If you play hard, good things happen a lot of times."