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Senior MIchael Koenig (the one on the left) and his Summerland team have advanced to the Class C-2 state semifinals. Just ask Hall of Famer Jeff Wolf, he was there.
@HuskerlandBob
How about that, me and Barret Boesiger joined by fate.
Him to make what will become the most historic shot in state tournament history - goodbye, Miracle on Vine - me to be in the wrong gym.
OK, not so much the wrong gym, I had a mission, but while our boy Barret was burying that three-quarters court game-winning field goal I was finishing up at Devaney where I’d been taking in the West Holt win over Class C-2 No. 2 seed Yutan. In the postgame I was suddenly besieged by friends and colleagues, asking “did I see what happened at the Norris game?!”
The reason it became “the Norris game” and not “the Pius game” is because after the Thunderbolts had hung around all day, then taken a late lead on Class B’s No. 1 seed the stage was being set for the Miracle on, what, Pinnacle Bank Arena Drive...
If you are on social media then long ago (in social media terms that means yesterday afternoon) you knew at least the vague details, how Pius made a clutch shot to tie the game. How Norris junior Macoy Folkerts buried two late three-pointers, the second with 3.2 seconds left on the clock, to set up the Pius in-bounds pass...which was intercepted by Barret. No biggie. Overtime it will be, since the kid is 70 feet from the basket.
Only there would be no need for overtime.
Barret turned and heaved the ball at the buzzer, the ball swished from way down there and Norris escaped a first-round upset by an old friend, winning 52-49.
(Cleansing breath goes here...)
Don’t claim to know Barret well but we did interview a view weeks ago and I can tell you this much, he’s the kind of kid you’d want soaking in this kind of adulation. Good kid, program’s all-time leading scorer, a name that will be remembered forever in the annals of Nebraska high school sports.
And there was more...
* The one thing you didn’t want yesterday was a big lead late. Twice you had teams come back from crazy deficits to grab unexpected wins, and beside that the top two seeds in C-2 were beaten. And then there was Barret’s Shot.
Here are some quick thoughts on yesterday’s games:
Class B
No. 1 Norris 52, No. 8 Lincoln Pius X 49. The final historic shot aside, Norris managed to overcome Third Time Around Syndrome, taking the Thunderbolts best shot (and it sounds like Mother Nature is going to give us some thunderbolts this afternoon) and survived. Champions do that kind of thing. It will be real fascinating to see how Norris deals with Skutt in tonight’s 6 p.m. game
No. 4 Skutt Catholic 71, No. 5 Douglas County West 31. Good for DC West for qualifying, that’s always a great achievement, but they were in the ring with the two-time (soon to be three-time?) champs.
No. 2 Scottsbluff 65, No. 7 Gretna East 60. Forget the No. 2 v. No.7 thing, this was an impressive, gutsy win by the Bearcats. Bodes well for their chances of making the final.
No. 6 Elkhorn North 74, No. 3 Wahoo 65. First-time qualifier North took down a defending champion with one of our most decorated histories. That’s state for ya.
Class C-2
No. 8 Archbishop Bergan 51, No. 1 Freeman 49. Freeman had done so much right this winter but this was a nightmare first-round draw, given Bergan’s relentlessly good scheduling and all those talented underclassmen. Talented and with no stage fright, as the Knights outscored the No. 1 seed 18-5 in the final quarter to advance.
Summerland 68, EMF 55. In a game Vince McMahon woulda loved, Summerland was so fast, so fearless in attacking the game at both ends of the floor in their landmark first-ever state tournament win. That’s an all-time senior class Big (Light) Blue puts on the floor, and they showed the way again yesterday afternoon.
No. 7 West Holt 48, No. 2 Yutan. Too much Hooey, that was Yutan’s problem, as the Chieftains had no answer for West Holt’s 6-5 senior Zach Hooey, who dominated the middle, finishing with 17 points and 13 rebounds. It’s the biggest upset since the railroad chose Rock Ridge.
No. 3 Cross County 41, No. 6 Cedar Catholic 38. Really happy for Jimmy Blex and the Cougars - not an ‘80s cover band, but Cross County’s basketball team - as they once again won their tournament opener. Had asked in the pregame if Jarred Royal had any playing eligibility left, was told no.
Class D-2
No. 1 St. Mary’s 50, No. 8 Silver Lake 38. Just like Bob Dylan’s singing art is in the eye of the beholder and while this was no masterpiece it was a first-round win for the No. 1 seed. I always figure if a team in that position plays at less than full capacity they are bound to play great next time out. We will find out here real quick, as the Cardinals play No. 4 Archangels Catholic at 9 o’clock.
No. 4 Archangels Catholic 61, No. 5 Stuart 59. In a wild and woolly finish the Defenders scored the last 16 points of the game - four Stuart players fouled out during that stretch - to deprive the Broncos of their first state tournament win in 99 years. Kudos to Catholic, they got the job done, we’re left wondering what would have happened if Stuart senior Gavynn Mustin had been available, but that’s state for ya.
No. 2 Wausa 61, No. 7 Fullerton 33. Vikings emphatic with their opening salvo, gets that Wynot rematch tonight at 7:45.
No. 3 Wynot 60, No. 6 Elgin/Pope John 53. Wynot will be waiting. (Side note: talk all week was how difficult matchup EPPJ would be, and they delivered a strong performance.)
Today’s Semifinals
Class A (at Pinnacle Bank Arena)
No. 1 Papillion-LaVista South (24-3) v. No. 4 Millard North (19-7), 1:30 p.m. Winner wins state? I could go with that.
No. 2 Omaha Westside (23-4) v. No. 6 Lincoln Southeast (17-8), 3:15. Great to see a Lincoln team in the Class A semis, but this is probably end of the road for the Knights.
Class B (at Pinnacle Bank Arena)
No. 1 Norris (25-2) v. No. 4 Skutt Catholic (22-5), 6 p.m. What is Norris’s state of mind after last night’s miracle on hard maple? Just feels like the final, either way.
No. 2 Scottsbluff (24-3) v. No. 6 Elkhorn North (19-5), 7:45 p.m. While this might seem like the undercard to some, both teams proved a lot with those opening wins. Might well be the most exciting game of the day.
Class C-1 (at Pinnacle Bank Arena)
No. 1 Lincoln Lutheran (23-3) v. No. 5 Ashland-Greenwood (21-5), 9 a.m. Lincoln Lutheran plays like they did on Wednesday morning, they win state. It’s that simple. Only Ashland has a way of making teams not play that way, especially at state.
No. 7 Doniphan-Trumbull (19-6) v. No. 3 Omaha Concordia (21-5), 10:45 a.m. The former was one of Wednesday’s Cinderella’s, here’s its chance to make Joe Sochor proud.
Class C-2 (at Devaney Center)
No. 8 Archbishop Bergan (17-9) v. No. 4 Summerland (24-3), 1:30 p.m. Expect an athletic game with lots of big plays, and a Summerland win. Um, right?
No. 7 West Holt (22-5) v. No. 3 Cross County (25-2), 3:15 p.m. Rightly or wrongly not sure either team was expected to be here but both delivered strong and no-fear performances in the opening round, and either way we get a really fun state finalist.
Class D-1 (at Devaney Center)
No. 1 Johnson-Brock (27-1) v. No. 4 McCool Junction (21-6), 9 a.m. McCool is playing with house money after that rousing opening win, but J-B didn’t come this far to get stopped now. Pretty sure about that.
No. 2 Howells-Dodge (23-5) v. No. 3 Bancroft-Rosalie (22-4), 10:45 a.m. Third time around in this series, maybe the game I am most looking forward to.
Class D-2 (at Devaney Center)
No. 1 St. Mary’s (22-5) v. No. 4 Archangels Catholic (20-6), 6 p.m. It will be hard to top yesterday’s comeback but a fun game might be to see how many more consecutive points Archangels scores. This one goes to the buzzer, maybe longer.
No. 2 Wausa (24-3) v. No. 3 Wynot (20-7), 7:45 p.m. Third time around in this series, maybe the game I am most looking forward to.
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