The quarterfinal round of the boys Metro Holiday Tournament produced some unforgettable moments and unreal performances as four teams punched their tickets to Tuesday’s semifinals.
Here’s what people will be talking about after Saturday’s action.
Dragons Rally — On and Off the Court
Brad Feeken has been a significant figure in the Gretna community and one of the best coaches in the state for many years. This season, the Dragons have had to take the court without him on the sideline as his battle with cancer took a turn for the worse a few weeks before the season began.
On Saturday, they woke up to news that the cancer had taken his life, hours before the Dragons were set to take on Papillion-La Vista South in the quarterfinals. There’s not a soul in this state that would have had a bad thing to say had the Dragons decided not to play, but as a team — players and coaches — they chose to do what they’ve been doing all year: play for Feek.
And play they did. The fifth-seeded Dragons put together a terrific first half, building up a 34-19 lead at the break over the fourth-seeded Titans. Then things took a turn.
Gretna senior Landon Pokorski attacks the basket. Photo by Mike Sautter.
Possession by possession, the lead began to slip away. Nothing Gretna tried on offense worked as there seemed to be a lid on their rim. Gretna scored just five points in the third quarter as Papio South trimmed the deficit to three, and it continued into the fourth as the Dragons couldn’t get anything to fall. Even free throws were a struggle.
The lead dried up entirely a couple minutes into the fourth as the Titans took the lead. They went back and forth a bit, and Papillion-La Vista South led 47-45 heading into the final minute. The Dragons worked the ball around until it found its way into senior Alex Wilcxoson’s hands late in the clock. At that point he was just 1-for-12 from the field, but with the game on the line he delivered with a beautiful up-and-under move for a layup to tie it with 40 seconds left.
With just a few seconds separating the game and shot clock, Papio South held the ball and ran off most of the time before junior Reece Kircher attacked the basket looking for the go-ahead bucket. Senior Joey Vieth slid over from the weak side and met him outside the lane to draw the charge and get the ball back for the Dragons with 8.6 to go.
Needing one bucket, Gretna put the ball in its senior leader’s hands. Landon Pokorski, a four-year starter, took the in-bounds pass, dribbled the length of the floor, attacked the basket and tossed up a tough-angle floater that dropped as time expired.
As the buzzer sounded, Pokorski punched the air in celebration, sprinted down the court and pointed to the sky as his teammates surrounded him.
LANDON. POKORSKI.
BALL GAME. #NEBPREPS pic.twitter.com/ytrDHcriC0
— Jacob Padilla (@JacobPadilla_) December 31, 2023
Gretna missed 19 of its first 22 shots in the first half, but the Dragons delivered in the clutch, going 2-for-2 in the final 40 seconds to punch their ticket to the semifinals — and honor their coach the best way they knew how.
Daleron Thomas Put Omaha Central on his Back
The quarterfinal round started with a big upset as eighth-seeded Omaha Central handed top-seeded, top-ranked and previously unbeaten Millard North its first loss, 74-54.
Central outscored Millard North 40-22 after halftime, turning a tight game into a blowout. The biggest reason was Daleron Thomas, the senior guard who transferred to Central after three years at Omaha North.
Thomas went off for 32 points, the highest total for anyone in the tournament thus far, and chipped in four assists with only one turnover while playing the entire game. What makes the point total even more impressive was how efficient it was. He only attempted two free throws, hitting both, and shot 11-for-16 from the field including an unreal 8-of-10 from deep. Some of those shots were absolutely ridiculous — off the dribble, from way downtown, deep in the shot clock — and almost all of them were nothing but net.
Thomas keyed their third-quarter run that gave the Eagles control, hitting four 3s and a mid-range pull-up for 14 points to give him 27 points through three quarters.
DJ Sterling and Devin Holmon made some big plays to help the Eagles pull away as well. Sterling finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting (3-of-6 from 3), five rebounds and five assists while Holmon added 13 points and four rebounds.
Stubblefield Steps Up
The quarterfinals featured a rivalry game as the host Junior Jays of Creighton Prep, sitting on the visitor bench as the lower seed, took on No. 3 Omaha Westside. The game was a bit of a grinder with a mix of zone defense and intense ball pressure making things tough for offenses on both ends, but one Warrior in particular stepped up.
Senior Kevin Stubblefield was the only one in double figures for Westside, finishing with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting (1-of-2 from 3) and 1-of-2 from the line with five boards, three assists and three steals.
Westside built a 13-point lead early in the second quarter, but Prep rallied with a 15-0 run to jump ahead early in the fourth. Westside needed an answer, and Stubblefield provided one with a layup to end the drought, the first of three fourth-quarter buckets for the 6-foot-4 forward. He scored six of the team’s 14 points in the fourth as Westside pulled out a 52-45 victory. Stubblefield routinely found cracks in the defense, whether Prep was playing man or zone, and he was the go-to guy in the fourth.
Thunderbirds Rain 3s
No. 2 Bellevue West put on a long-range display in the nightcap, shooting an incredible 70% from 3-point range (14-of-20) to race past No. 7 Omaha Bryan, 76-55.
The star of the show was junior forward Robby Garcia, who scored a game-high 26 points while knocking down all eight of his 3-point attempts. The 6-foot-6 post knocked down shots from all around the arc, including one where he crossed up a defender on the left wing and pulled up to bury the trey.
Take out Garcia and the rest of the team still shot 50%. South Dakota State commit Jaden Jackson added 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting including 3-of-4 from deep and 2-of-4 from the line with four assists, while Eldon Turner, Steven Poulicek and Isaiah McMorris each hit a 3-pointer. Turner added eight assists, five rebounds and five steals to his five points.
