After knocking down his first eight free throws, Caleb Strauss began to realize it was his night to shine. 

And with three of his fellow starters having fouled out by the end of regulation, the Warrenton junior knew it was his responsibility to lead his team to victory in the championship game of the Winfield BOOM Classic Saturday.

Just three hours after receiving the heartbreaking news that his grandfather had passed away, Strauss mustered up an inspiring and dominant performance, scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 boards to lead the Warriors to a 66-63 win against top-seeded Timberland in overtime.

“You realize basketball is an awesome outlet, and it can give you moments like that, which are larger than life,” said Coach Mike Uffmann. “It was an emotional night for everybody.”

Strauss had learned that his grandfather, Les Jackson, had fallen very ill the night before, and he had gone to visit him one final time. He spent most of Saturday with his teammates, able to stay distracted from the situation. 

“It was one of the longest days I’ve had in a while, wondering what was going to happen,” said Strauss.

Moments before the bus arrived to the Winfield gym, he learned of Jackson’s passing through a social media post by a family member.

For a few minutes, he lost it. Tears fell as he prepared to play one of the most significant games of his prep basketball career. 

Strauss says he determined that even though he’d lost his grandfather, he was going to win the night.

“I told myself not to look back and just focus on what was ahead,” said Strauss. “I wasn’t going to let it affect me negatively. I just wanted to go out and play for my Paw Paw.”

The 6-foot-8 center found his rhythm early and carried that confidence throughout the game. After an erratic and pressure-filled end to regulation, the game entered overtime deadlocked at 56-56. Strauss drained the go-ahead free throw to begin the extra session and followed with a layup to secure the win. He finished 11 of 13 from the charity stripe.

“Before the game, one of my coaches told me ‘none of these kids in this tournament can guard you. If you play like you know you can, nobody can stop you,’ ” said Strauss. “The more I thought about my grandpa dying, the more I believed that and the harder I played.”

Uffmann says the Warriors’ immediate goal was to draw a fifth foul on Timberland post Kamron Lenoir, and Strauss accomplished that during the first play of overtime. The Warriors ability to out-shoot their opponent at the free-throw line proved significant, as the built a six-point lead with just over a minute remaining, holding on for the emotional victory.

“This was a good way to start the season,” said junior point guard Brenden Smith. “I felt like we had a good opportunity to win, even though we weren’t supposed to. We don’t really care who scores. We just have fun and go play as a family.”

The Warriors came out firing on all cylinders, building a 28-18 lead midway through the second quarter. Sophomore Jake Tonioli hit a pair of early three-pointers, forcing Timberland to adapt its zone defense and eventually switch to man-to-man.

“Knocking down those outside shots helped calm our nerves, and with every possession, we started believing a little more and more,” said Uffmann. “We executed our offense so well in the second quarter.”

But the Wolves came storming back before halftime, clawing to within three and trailing 34-29 at the break.

The teams traded leads during a third quarter that saw the game become increasingly more physical. Warrenton closed out the period on a 6-2 run, behind 47-45 heading into the fourth quarter.

As the game progressed, the Warriors found themselves having to overcome more than just the opposing team. By the end of regulation, they had lost three starters to foul trouble and were relying on reserves to handle the ball in a pressure situation.

“It was a challenge, because we were playing with the lead with our best ball handlers and free-throw shooters on the bench,” said Uffmann, who asked reserve point guard Clayton Schowe to keep feeding the ball inside to Strauss with a patient offensive approach.

Senior post player Trevor Alberternst also fouled out, having scored 10 points to complement Strauss inside.

This was the first title for the Warriors since winning the Clopton Tournament during the 2011-12 season. Warrenton improved to 5-0. 

“It felt great to finally have a championship and take home a plaque,” said Strauss. “It’s exciting to be a part of something that hasn’t happened in a while, and we don’t want this to be the last.”