The Nebraska Boys Basketball State Tournament rolled on Friday with the semifinal round.
The Hurrdat Sports team posted up at Pinnacle Bank Arena to bring you coverage of the Class C1, Class B and Class A games.
Quarterfinals Coverage: Wednesday | Thursday
CLASS C1
No. 5 Wahoo 49, No. 1 Omaha Concordia 36
The Warriors are headed back to the championship game for the first time since winning the 2018 C1 title thanks to a clutch fourth quarter at the free-throw line and a strong defensive performance throughout.
Two minutes of scoreless basketball to begin the game set the tone, but after a couple of lead changes late in the period Wahoo took an 11-9 advantage into the second and remained in front the rest of the way.
The Warriors extended the lead out to seven midway through the third, but Concordia trimmed it down to three at 34-31 a couple minutes into the fourth. Then Wahoo’s senior star Marcus Glock took over, scoring eight straight at the free-throw line to build Wahoo’s first double-digit lead of the game.
The Mustangs made one last push with a 3-pointer from Kyle Schneider, then Concordia forced a turnover in the backcourt and turned it into points with a Quientan McCafferty bucket inside with 90 seconds to play, but Dylan Simons hit six straight free throws to stretch it back out.
Glock, a Division II Northwest Missouri State commit, finished with 24 points and 5 rebounds while shooting 14-of-15 form the foul line. Simons added 14 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and three blocks while hitting all 10 of his free throws.
McCafferty, a Division II Truman State commit, led Concordia with 13 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals while junior Jack Thrasher added 10 points, four boards and two steals.
Marcus Glock with an @pinnbank postgame conversation after the Warriors semifinal win over Omaha Concordia. #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/zixwINxGLQ
— Mike Sautter (@MikeSautter_) March 8, 2024
No. 3 Auburn 43, No. 2 Ashland-Greenwood 32
The Bulldogs earned a trip to the C1 championship for the sixth straight year with a vintage Jim Weeks defensive performance.
It took more than four minutes for Ashland-Greenwood to score its first points and the Bulldogs held the Bluejays to two field goals in the second and third quarters combined to build a 28-14 lead heading into the fourth.
Auburn led 16-11 at halftime then Auburn senior Mav Binder scored 10 straight points to open the third quarter. Brenton Wenzl tacked on two free throws before Dane Jacobsen knocked down a 3 with 30 seconds to go, the Warriors’ only field goal of the period.
Auburn slowed things down even more in the fourth quarter and continued to get stops early, but the Bluejays made one final push, cutting the deficit down to six at 36-30 with two and a half to play with three-point plays from Derek Tonjes, Drake Zimmerman and Dawson Thies plus a 3-pointer from Landon Mohs, but the comeback ran out of steam and Auburn salted the game away at the foul line.
Binder finished with a game-high 14 points on 5-of-8 from the field and 4-of-7 from the line, seven rebounds and three steals. Junior Nixon Ligouri chipped in 10 points and four boards.
The two-time champion’s reign is over, but the previous two teams to win C1 titles will square off in the final, set for 11 a.m. on Saturday.
CLASS B
Omaha Skutt Catholic senior Will O’Doherty celebrates after the SkyHawks semifinal win over previously unbeaten Crete. Photo by Mac Johnson.
No. 4 Omaha Skutt Catholic 55, No. 1 Crete 47
The reigning champions pulled off more fourth-quarter magic on Friday to complete a double-digit comeback and hand the Cardinals their first loss of the season.
Crete senior Aidan McDowell put on a show in the first half to lead the Cardinals to a 31-26 halftime lead, then Crete scored the first five of the second half to extend the lead to 10.
The SkyHawks really locked in on McDowell from that point, however, and began whittling away at the lead. They cut it to six at the end of the third then Skutt opened the fourth with a trip to the foul line, splitting the shots.
Skutt put the clamps on from there, however, scoring 15 straight points to take a 52-44 lead in the final minute. Trace Egge snapped a streak of eight straight misses to open the period with a 3, but it proved to be Crete’s only bucket of the period. The SkyHawks outscored the Cardinals 18-4 in the fourth quarter, holding them to 1-of-10 shooting with four turnovers.
Junior Brock Scholl had a monster game to lead the SkyHawks back to the championship game, finishing with 28 points on 9-of-12 from the field (4-of-5 from 3) and 6-of-10 from the line plus 12 rebounds. Fellow junior Dylan Van Dyke chipped in 12 points, four boards and three assists.
McDowell scored 21 of his team-high 24 points in the first half on a variety of difficult shots. He finished 10-of-19 from the field (3-of-8 from 3) with an and-one.
No. 2 Norris 65, No. 3 Scottsbluff 47
The young Titans flexed their muscles and earned their way into the championship with a dominant performance led by a pair of underclassmen.
Scottsbluff had no answer for sophomore forward Chris Garner Jr. who dropped 25 points on 9-of-12 from the field and 7-of-7 from the line, 14 rebounds (five offensive) and two blocks. Freshman point guard Evan Greenfield added 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting (1-of-2 from 3), five rebounds and three steals.
Norris took a 19-9 lead into the second quarter before the Bearcats made a push, pulling within six at 25-19 as sophomore point guard Nate Kelley sparked a run. However, the Titans responded with a 12-2 run then extend the lead out to 26 at one point in the second half.
Kelley was the lone Bearcat in double figures, finishing with 20 points on 50% shooting and 5-of-6 from the line.
The Titans have advanced to the title game for the first time since winning it all in 2003. They’ll take on No. 4 Skutt looking to avenge a 60-57 regular season loss to the SkyHawks. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
CLASS A
No. 1 Bellevue West 62, No. 5 Omaha Central 54
After a tight first half, the Thunderbirds used a big third-quarter run to take control and closed it out in the fourth to soar back into the final.
Central led 16-13 after one (on Daleron Thomas’s banked-in 3 at the buzzer) and 30-28 at halftime. The teams combined for 22 turnovers in a physical, helter-skelter 16 minutes of basketball.
The Thunderbirds cleaned things up in the second half, however, opening the third quarter with a 12-2 run to take a 10-point lead then trading buckets to take that edge into the fourth. Bellevue West cut its turnovers to one and held Central to six points in the period.
The closest Central got in the fourth was eight as the Thunderbirds had an answer every time the Eagles made a play to advance to their sixth straight Class A championship game.
Senior big man Jacob Arop led the way with 16 points on 7-of-10 from the field and 2-of-4 from the line, nine rebounds and two blocks. Senior Steven Poulicek chipped in 13 points while junior Robby Garcia added 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
Senior DJ Sterling led the Eagles with 15 points on 6-of-11 from the field (1-of-2 from 3) and 2-of-2 from the line. Sophomore DaShawn Prince added 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting including 2-of-3 from deep and six rebounds.
No. 2 Millard North 50, No. 3 Omaha Westside 48
A heavyweight fight between two veteran squads needed every bit of the four extra minutes to determine a winner, but one final defensive stand for the Mustangs sent them on to the Class A final for the fifth straight year.
Neither side led by more than two possessions the entire way as the teams went bucket-for-bucket, stop-for-stop much of the night. Millard North had the ball last at the end of regulation with the score tied and 4.2 on the clock and ran a play to get Grant Urbanek a look from the corner, but it circled the rim and popped out at the buzzer.
The overtime was a grinder with neither side making a shot from the field. Millard North held Westside scoreless for the first three and a half, build a 50-46 lead via free throws before Caleb Benning got the Warriors on the board at the line with a pair to cut the lead in half.
With the shot clock off, Westside opted to press and trap over fouling immediately, and it paid off as they forced a tie-up with the arrow in their favor and 21.9 to play. Westside put the ball in leading scorer Kevin Stubblefield’s hands and he looked to get downhill, but Camden Monie plugged the gap for the Mustangs and knocked the ball free for the steal, dribbling the clock out for the two-point win.
Junior Derek Rollins led Millard North with 14 points and nine rebounds. Monie added 12 points on 5-of-7 from the field and 2-oif-2 from the line, five rebounds and two steals including the game-sealing play. Senior Neal Mosser went 3-of-4 from the foul line in overtime and finished with 11 points and four assists.
Stubblefield led Westside with 20 points on 50% shooting, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Fellow senior CJ Mitchell added 13 points and five rebounds while shooting 3-of-5 from deep.
For the fifth straight year, Millard North will take on Bellevue West in the championship. The teams are 2-2 in that stretch with the Thunderbirds winning last season. Tipoff is set for 6:15 p.m.
Devaney Center Results
CLASS C2
>> No. 1 Amherst 63, No. 5 Cross County 48: Amherst senior Tayje Hadwiger scored 17 of his game-high 30 points in the first quarter to give the Broncos an early lead they would not relinquish. Senior Austin Adelung added all 16 of his points after halftime as Amherst advanced to the final for the second straight year. Hadwiger became the school’s all-time leading scorer in the game, standing at 1,536 points with one more game to play.
>> No. 6 Lincoln Lutheran 51, No. 7 Norfolk Catholic 45: Junior Jacob Duitsman put the Warriors on his back late, scoring 10 of his team-high 13 points in the fourth as Lutheran outscored Catholic 21-15 in the final eight minutes to earn the victory.
Championship: No. 1 Amherst vs. No. 6 Lincoln Lutheran, 4:15 p.m.
CLASS D1
>> No. 4 Ainsworth 54, No. 8 Guardian Angels Central Catholic 53: Nebraska football signee Carter Nelson hit a shot in the lane with 1.4 remaining to send the Bulldogs to the championship game. Nelson finished with 14 points while Traegen McNally led the way with 20. Trey Appelt chipped in 11 points, hitting the 1,000-point milestone for his career in the process.
>> No. 2 Johnson Brock 72, No. 6 Painview 36: The Eagles doubled up the Pirates to earn a chance to go for the repeat. Junior guards Camden and Casen Dalinghaus both went off, finishing with 27 and 24 points, respectively.
Championship: No. 2 Johnson-Brock vs. No. 4 Ainsworth, 9 a.m.
CLASS D2
>> No. 1 Shelton 63, No. 4 Wynot 60, 3OT: It took a fourth-quarter rally and three overtimes, but the top-seeded Bulldogs eventually earned its place in the final despite stat-sheet-stuffing senior Riley Bombeck fouling out in regulation. Fellow senior Ashton Simmons took over from there, scoring 13 in the fourth quarter and another nine in the extra periods to finish with 34 points. Shelton trailed 31-18 at halftime and 39-32 after three without the benefit of a shot clock, but still found a way to rally.
>> No. 2 Mawyood-Hayes Center 53, No. 6 Sumner-Eddyville-Miller 48: Jeremiah Ingison led the way with 20 points and Haydn Farr added 14 as the Wolves used a strong second half to advance to the championship game.
Championship: No. 1 Shelton vs. No. 2 Maywood-Hayes Center, 8:15 p.m.
