For the second straight year, Lincoln Southeast knocked off Omaha Creighton Prep in the Heider Center in a district final.
The Knights beat the Junior Jays 40-38 in overtime Monday night to claim the A-7 district title and punch their ticket to the state tournament.
Story of the Game
In a game where points never came easy, one of the toughest shots of the night ultimately decided the result.
With the game tied at 38-all and 6 seconds on the clock, Southeast in-bounded to senior Jake Hilkemann near halfcourt. He faced the basket, drive the lane, jump-stopped and turned around for a fading jumper over the outstretched hand of 6-foot-8 Prep senior Dillon Claussen.
The shot found the bottom of the net, the buzzer sounded and the Knights mobbed Hilkemann, knocking him over in front of the Prep bench in celebration. Hilkemann only took six shots all night and finished with six points, none bigger than the final two.
JAKE HILKEMANN.
BALL GAME.
THE KNIGHTS ARE HEADED TO STATE. #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/a0kdxoyamx
— Jacob Padilla (@JacobPadilla_) February 27, 2024
“Honestly, the play was designed to get Taye [Moore] going,” Southeast coach Joey Werning said. “Jake told me after, he said ‘Coach, I know it was supposed to go to Taye, but I was going to go score it.’ You’ve got to have players making plays. It’s about the players. They went out and made one more play than the other team. Heck, half the time we drew stuff up we didn’t execute, so it’s all about them making plays.”
The game was tied at the end of the first, third and fourth quarters. The longest run of the game was nine straight points to open the third quarter as the Knights held Prep scoreless for nearly five minutes. However, the Junior Jays closed the quarter on a 9-3 run including a Carson Jones 3 at the buzzer to tie it up at 30-all.
Southeast used a 6-0 spurt to take a five-point lead in the fourth, but Prep answered with a layup from Marquis Toliver and a 1-for-2 trip to the line from Claussen, making it a two-point game with just over a minute to play. Prep got a stop and Claussen took it to the basket, tying it up with 2.2 left, and Southeast’s heave at the buzzer wasn’t close.
Prep scored first in overtime with a bucket inside from junior Trinell Parker, but the Junior Jays didn’t score again. Moore tied it up with a layup and two and a half minutes of scoreless basketball followed before Hilkemann’s game-winner.
“We were really displeased at halftime, giving up that late 3, and then I thought we came out of halftime with some giddy-up in our step,” Werning said. “We started the game with a ton of physicality, I thought, then we kind of got into some foul trouble and I thought we stopped playing physically. They were killing us inside, we lost them a couple times, and then we got kind of back to where we were at there in the third quarter. We’re best when we’re getting stops and running in transition and letting our athletes go to work. Everybody hit some big shots … It was just like, ‘Who’s going to break first?’ and I thought we just kind of made one more play than they did. It could have gone either way.”
Werning called it a “gritty win,” a fitting description. Both teams shot under 32% from the field, but the Knights made two more buckets and Prep went 7-for-18 at the foul line including 2-for-8 after halftime.
Coach Speak
“I can’t even describe it,” Werning said. “I don’t know what the Vegas odds would be of going to Prep two years in a row; it’s probably never been done. I doubt it’s ever been done.”
Lincoln Souutheast’s Hake Hillkemann and coach Joey Werning with @pinnbank postgame conversations following the Knights overtime win in the A-5 district final at Prep. #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/UWjFpbE8AX
— Mike Sautter (@MikeSautter_) February 27, 2024
Standout Performers
Junior guard Mikey Ngoyi led the Knights with 11 points while Moore, the senior who recently surpassed 1,000 career points, finished with 10. Senior guard Ziah Brown chipped in seven points and eight rebounds. Hilkemann added six rebounds and four steals to his six points.
Claussen led the Junior Jays with 17 points, 12 rebounds (six offensive) and four blocks. Parker, a junior, added 10 points, four rebounds and four blocks.
Other Class A District Results
With the loss, the Junior Jays will have to hope chalk holds ahead of them in order to secure the wildcard.
In the A-1 district final, Bellevue West topped Lincoln North Star 75-61. Senior Jaden Jackson, a South Dakota State signee, led the way with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting including 5-of-7 from 3. Senior Jacob Arop added 14 points and seven rebounds while seniors Steven Poulicek and Isaiah McMorris chipped in 10 points apiece. Senior Eldon Turner fell just shy of a double-double with nine points and eight assists.
DISTRICT CHAMPS! 🏆@JadenJ2024 had 25 pts in @TBirdBB’s 75-61 win over Lincoln North Star. @annaambrose76 spoke with Jackson after the win.#Nebpreps pic.twitter.com/EsZp3jcM4x
— nebpreps (@THEnebpreps) February 27, 2024
Millard North rolled to victory in the A-2 district final as well, topping Lincoln Southwest 82-50. Derek Rollins led the way with 20 points on 7-of-10 from the field (5-of-5 from 3) and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, 12 rebounds and three blocks. The Mosser brothers, senior Neal and sophomore Major, combined for 33 points and seven 3-pointers. The Mustangs set a school record with 16 made 3-pointers in the game, shooting 53.3% from deep and 56.6% overall.
Millard North coach Mike Etzelmiller with an @pinnbank postgame chat following the Mustangs A-2 District Championship. #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/MK0jvfhF6k
— Mike Sautter (@MikeSautter_) February 27, 2024
The other four district finals will take place on Tuesday night. Omaha Westside is hosting Omaha Bryan in A-3, Omaha North is hosting Papillion-La Vista South in A-4, Lincoln Pius X is hosting Omaha Central in A-6 and Kearney is hosting Gretna in A-7.
