As the Montgomery County Wildcats returned home at 11:50 p.m. on March 2 after a heartbreaking, 42-41 loss to the Cole Camp Bluebirds in a Class 3 boys sectional game at Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia, they couldn’t stop thinking about Ethan Shearer.

Just three hours before, the Cole Camp junior ended the Wildcats’ season by hitting a game-winning 3-pointer from halfcourt as time expired.

“Hats off to that kid for making that shot,” MCHS coach Scott Kroeger said. “It was a really big shot. I know it’s a moment that’s going to haunt us for a long time.”

Shearer denied the Wildcats their first Elite Eight appearance in five years and their first under Kroeger, who took over the program in the 2017-18 season. MCHS finished its season at 17-13 and was eliminated in the sectional round for the second year in a row.

Shearer also ended the high school basketball careers of seniors Logan Hutcheson, Keenan James, Ethan Rakers and Drake Smith. The quartet played with the MCHS program all four years.

“It was sad to end it like that for the seniors,” MCHS freshman Tyler Erwin said.

The Wildcats advanced to the sectional round by beating Hermann 52-44 in the District 7 championship game on Feb. 26 at South Callaway High School.

Against Cole Camp, the Wildcats had a 40-37 lead with five seconds left in the game and were about to earn a trip to Battle High School in Columbia to play in the state quarterfinals.

But Shearer’s buzzer-beating shot ended those plans. He finished with 16 points, including 10 in the second half.

“It’s not always easy being the coach’s kid,” said Cole Camp coach Kevin Shearer, Ethan’s father. “We always went with the philosophy of raising our sons that they were going to get it twice as bad as everyone else. So it’s a good moment for him, but we’ll have a few things we have to critique about his game either way.”

The Wildcats had a balanced scoring attack that was led by Smith with nine points. Rakers and freshman Clayton Parker each had eight points. James and junior Zak Rodgers had six points apiece.

Rakers gave MCHS a 40-37 lead with a 3-pointer with five seconds left. After a timeout, MCHS junior Alex Hartman fouled Cole Camp’s Reid Harrison to prevent the Bluebirds from hitting a game-tying 3-pointer.

“I believe in the firm philosophy that if you look at it percentage wise, your chances of winning go up by 80-plus percent whenever you don’t allow a team to get a look off to tie the game,” Kroeger said.

Harrison, who finished with a game-high 17 points, hit both free throws to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 40-39.

After he was fouled with 3.5 seconds left, Rakers made the first free throw to increase MCHS’ lead to 41-39, then missed the second free throw attempt.

Shearer grabbed the rebound, then sprinted to half-court and hit the 3-point shot. He was then mobbed by his teammates.

“The only thing you ask for in every single game is to put yourselves in a position to win as players and coaches,” Kroeger said. “I felt like we did that right there. But sometimes that ball doesn’t bounce your way.”

Cole Camp improved to 17-10. A year ago, the Benton County school missed 10 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic and finished 6-10.

The Bluebirds advanced to sectional play by beating Stover 63-50 in three overtimes in the District 8 championship game on Feb. 26. Against the Wildcats, they came back from a 6-0 deficit to take a 37-28 lead with six minutes left in the game.

“Those kids played as hard as any team I’ve coached or played against,” Kroeger said. “Those kids get after it. They’re scrappy. Those kids go after everything.”