Class C-1: Pierce, St. Cecilia, Chadron, Bennington move on
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By the Lincoln Journal Star
Class C-1 state tournament schedule and results:
Pierce 49, Boys Town 40: Against an athletic Boys Town team with numerous offensive weapons, Pierce coach Mike Emory figured his team’s defensive average might take a hit Thursday.
Instead, the top-ranked Bluejays were close to where they’ve been all season. A 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter proved to be the difference in the Bluejays’ 49-40 victory in the first round of the Class C-1 boys state tournament at Pershing Center.
Top-ranked Pierce will have a difficult road to earn a football-basketball double in the same school year, but it is the favorite. The Bluejays drew Boys Town, an athletic, well-tested team. With four players averaging in double figures, Pierce has balance and the all-around athleticism of Eric Koehlmoos. A win should set up a rematch with Hastings St. Cecilia, which the Bluejays beat in a holiday tourney. Waiting on the other side will likely be Chadron, although a first-round matchup with underdog Lincoln Lutheran could cause problems for the Cardinals. Bennington’s game with Wisner-Pilger is a rematch of a district final won by Bennington.
-- Ryly Jane Hambleton
1. BENNINGTON BADGERS
Rank: 2 Coach: Larry Klaus
Last year at state: 2001
Of note: Edged first-round foe 51-47 in district
final.
2. BOYS TOWN COWBOYS
Rank: 7 Coach: Tom Krehbiel
Last year at state: 2006
Of note: Unbeaten against Class C opposition.
3. CHADRON CARDINALS
Rank: 6 Coach: Craig Nobiling
Last year at state: 2007
Of note: Three sophomores start, including
6-foot-11 Elliott Esiason.
4. HASTINGS ST. CECILIA BLUEHAWKS
Rank: 3 Coach: Rob Kober
Last year at state: 2007
Of note: Only losses are to unbeatens Pierce and Archbishop Bergan.
5. LINCOLN LUTHERAN WARRIORS
Rank: NR Coach: Joel Stoltenow
Last year at state: First trip
Of note: Recovered from five-game skid to win four of last five.
6. MINDEN WHIPPETS
Rank: NR Coach: Dave Mroczek
Last year at state: 1985
Of note: Needed wild card after subdistrict loss
to today’s foe.
7. PIERCE BLUEJAYS
Rank: 1 Coach: Mike Emory
Last year at state: 2007
Of note: In football, Pierce capped unbeaten
season with a title.
8. WISNER-PILGER GATORS
Rank: 8 Coach: Marty Gilson
Last year at state: 2005
Of note: Returned 11 of 12 varsity players from last year’s 19-win team.
Thursday's results
“We’re giving up 38 points a game, and we didn’t expect to be that close to our defensive average today,” said Emory, whose 24-0 Bluejays advance to the semifinals for the third straight year. “If you would’ve told me they’d (the Cowboys) be in the 30s in the fourth quarter, I would’ve taken it. That’s a credit to our kids’ effort.”
A driving layup by Rodney McDonald of the seventh-ranked Cowboys tied it at 35 with 4:55 left. Boys Town (21-6), however, missed its next five shots and had two turnovers in its next seven possessions. That allowed Pierce to pull away at the free-throw line.
After a driving layup by Eric Koehlmoos broke the tie, Pierce hit 7 of 8 free throws — including four straight by Koehlmoos — to make it 44-35 with 2:28 left. The Bluejays were 15-of-22 at the line in the final period.
Defensively, Pierce held Boys Town’s 1-2 punch inside of 6-foot-6 senior Jay Battle and burly 6-3 senior Mike Connors to a combined five points. The duo came in averaging 21 points a game.
Jacob Woslager not only led that defensive effort, he also scored a game-high 21 points to go along with 13 rebounds for Pierce. Guards Ramon Williams and Isiah Gandy paced Boys Town with 11 and nine points, respectively.
“The Williams kid is extremely quick, and Gandy brings a lot to the table offensively,” Emory said. “I thought we did a better job of staying in front of them in the second half, and our bigs played awfully well against their big kids.”
--Ron Powell
Hastings St. Cecilia 58, Minden 44: Minden survived Hastings St. Cecilia’s initial run, but not the second.
A 9-1 Bluehawk spurt to end the third quarter opened up a 13-point lead that allowed third-ranked Hastings St. Cecilia to coast past Minden in a Class C-1 first-round game Thursday at Pershing Center.
Behind 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the three-point line, St. Cecilia (21-2) jumped to a 23-9 advantage early in the second quarter. But the Bluehawks hit just one of their next 10 shots and committed five turnovers during that span, which allowed Minden (17-5) to get as close as 24-20 just before halftime.
Jake Hamburger scored nine of his team-high 17 points in the third quarter as St. Cecilia extended its advantage to 41-28 heading into the final eight minutes. The 6-foot-3 junior hit a pair of three-pointers and converted a three-point play during that span.
“I was in the flow of the offense, not trying to force things,” Hamburger said. “My teammates set some great screens, which got me open looks.’’
Blake Wright added 13 points for the winners, while guard Dalton Sealey chipped in 10, eight of which came in the first quarter. Minden guard Josh Werner paced all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
— Ron Powell
Chadron 50, Lincoln Lutheran 36: The top-seeded Cardinals (22-2) used stifling defense in the second quarter at Pershing to build an 11-point halftime lead and quickly ended Lincoln Lutheran's first trip to the state basketball tournament.
Chadron held the Warriors (11-11) to just four points in the second quarter to break open a three-point game. They hit 20 of 29 free throws compared to Lutheran's 8-of-13 from the line.
The Cardinals, who advanced to Friday's 10:45 a.m. semifinal at Devaney, were led by Elliott Eliason's 18 points. Kevin Raguse scored 15 for the Warriors.
Bennington 69, Wisner-Pilger 62
Not a whole lot separates the Bennington and Wisner-Pilger boys basketball teams.
But for the second straight game, second-ranked Bennington found just enough to get past the eighth-ranked Gators.
Six unanswered points midway through the fourth quarter were enough for the Badgers to win the Class C-1 first-round state tournament game Thursday at Pershing Center.
For the Gators (23-2), it was their second straight loss to Bennington. The Badgers (24-0) also won 51-47 in overtime in the district final last week.
“I told the kids before we started this would be a dogfight and that’s what it was,’’ Bennington coach Larry Klaus said. “We made some plays there in the fourth quarter, had a little run and that was the difference.”
Wisner-Pilger led 53-52 when the Badgers’ Paul Hanson sank a 15-footer for the 14th and final lead change of the game. On Bennington’s next possession, Dexter Higgins got an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and teammate Ben Sowers scored inside for a three-point Bennington lead.
An offensive rebound and basket by Higgins completed the run and put Bennington up 58-53 with 4:05 left. The Badgers sank 12 of 21 free throws in the fourth period to keep the Gators at bay.
Sowers had 13 points and six offensive rebounds off the bench. He was one of four Badgers in double figures, as Higgins led with 17 points, Denver Klaus had 15 points on 11-of-13 shooting at the free-throw line and Tyler Byrd chipped in 12 points.
Mychael McClure paced the Gators with 20 points and nine rebounds. Will May added 17 points for Wisner-Pilger on 5-of-7 three-point shooting.
Stay with JournalStar.com for tournament updates.
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DEF wrote on March 6, 2008 11:07 pm:
Ron Klaus wrote on March 7, 2008 9:01 am:
What a joy to see you take your team and son Denver to
State. Congratulations to Bennington! Take State! "