Lincoln – KBRX had three area teams compete in the Girl’s and Boy’s State Basketball Tournaments, and all three teams brought home hardware! The Girl’s Tournament ran from March 4th through the 7th with the Boy’s tournament scheduled during the next week – March 11th through the 14th.
We followed the Elkhorn Valley Lady Falcons throughout the NSAA C2 Girl’s State Basketball Tournament after the Lady Falcons finished the regular season, Subdistricts, & District Finals with an undefeated, 26-0 season! Elkhorn Valley started the tourney as the #2 seed and faced the 7th seeded Crofton Lady Warriors in the opening round! Elkhorn Valley started off hot, outscoring Crofton 15-6 in the 1st quarter but Crofton would not give up so easily. The Lady Warriors outscored the Lady Falcons 17-4 in the 2nd quarter, and took a 23-19 lead into halftime. Elkhorn Valley did not waver and locked right back in, taking care of business in the 2nd half – outscoring Crofton 23-13 and earning a 42-36 victory to advance to the C2 Girl’s State Basketball Semifinals!
The Semifinals saw a rematch for Elkhorn Valley as they faced the #6 seed – GACC Lady Bluejays, a game that Elkhorn Valley had won earlier in the season 54-36. The Lady Bluejays were hungry to avenge that loss and made it difficult throughout the 1st half, outscoring the Lady Falcons 29-22 in the 1st half. GACC would extend that lead in the 3rd quarter to 36-24, putting Elkhorn Valley into a difficult spot. However, the Lady Falcons would not be denied and went on a 24-4 run to finish the game, holding GACC to just 2 points in the 4th quarter and earning a 48-40 victory to advance to the Class C2 Girl’s State Championship!
The State Championship featured the #1 and #2 teams, Pender and Elkhorn Valley, and it was a matchup that saw fireworks in the 1st half! Pender led Elkhorn Valley going into halftime: 32-24. The Lady Pendragons defense had been stifling all year and it was in the 3rd quarter as Elkhorn Valley struggled offensively against Pender’s defense, Pender outscored Elkhorn Valley 20-5 in the 3rd and held the Lady Falcons to no made field goals. As always, Elkhorn Valley didn’t give up without a fight and outscored Pender in the 4th quarter: 19-11, but the Lady Pendragons’ lead was too much. Pender defeated Elkhorn Valley in the NSAA Class C2 Girl’s State Championship, 63-48.
It was an amazing season for Elkhorn Valley as they come home as State Runner-Up, finishing the year at 28-1!
Picture courtesy of Antelope County News
KBRX then joined two area teams in the NSAA Class D2 Boy’s State Championship Tournament – St. Mary’s & EPPJ! EPPJ earned the #1 seed, entering the tournament 23-3! St. Mary’s looked to defend their title from the #3 seed, finishing the regular season 25-2!
St. Mary’s opened the tournament with a familiar foe in the #6 seed – the Wynot Blue Devils. St. Mary’s defeated Wynot in last years D2 State Basketball Championship, and Wynot defeated St. Mary’s in the D2 State Football Championship in November! Anticipation was at an all time high but St. Mary’s was able to overcome any pressure early, pulling out to an early double digit lead and never looking back! The Cardinals would advance to the semifinals with a 56-42 victory over Wynot!
EPPJ faced the #8 seed Pleasanton Bulldogs in the 1st round, and it was a back-and-forth game from start to finish! EPPJ led after one quarter of play, 13-12, then outscored the Bulldogs 15-13 in the 2nd quarter to give the Wolfpack a 28-25 halftime lead. The tension continued to rise – Pleasanton outscored EPPJ 12-10 in the 3rd quarter, and 19-18 overall in the 2nd half, but EPPJ were able to hold on just long enough to get a 46-44 victory and advance to the semifinals!
After opening the D2 State Championship Tournament with a rematch, it was yet another rematch for the St. Mary’s Cardinals in the semifinals – the #2 seed Archangels Catholic Defenders! Both offenses and defenses were tested again and again, each team going on run after run, momentum swung back and forth all game! After three quarters of play the game was tied at 37 apiece, leaving just 8 minutes of play to determine who would move on to the State Championship! The Defenders went on an early run to start the 4th quarter and seemed to have all the answers through the later stages of the game. St. Mary’s brought it within 4 points with just over a minute remaining, but Archangels Catholic were able to hold on and get a 57-52 victory over St. Mary’s, sending the Cardinals to the 3rd place match.
EPPJ faced the #5 seed – GACC in the Semifinals after the Bluejays got a 54-50 victory over Deshler in the 1st round. And just like the 1st round game against Pleasanton, this was another competitive game from start to finish! Both teams traded blows in the 1st half, EPPJ outscoring GACC 11-5 in the 1st quarter, GACC outscoring EPPJ 10-6 in the 2nd, sending both teams into the halftime break with the Wolfpack leading 17-15. The Bluejays outscored EPPJ 7-6 in the 3rd quarter before EPPJ took control in the 4th quarter, outscoring GACC 21-11! EPPJ would advance to the D2 Boys State Basketball Championship with a 44-33 victory over GACC!
St. Mary’s faced GACC in the Class D2 Boy’s Basketball 3rd place match from Lincoln Northeast and, just like the tournament had gone so far, it was a competitive game from the opening tip to the final whistle! GACC led St. Mary’s after the 1st quarter: 16-15, the Cardinals then outscored the Bluejays 14-8 in the 2nd quarter to take a 29-24 lead into the half. It was a 12-9 3rd quarter followed by a 16-14 4th quarter, both in favor of the Cardinals, to give St. Mary’s a 57-47 victory over GACC and finishing the NSAA Class D2 Boys State Basketball Tournament in 3rd place!
It was an awesome year for the Cardinals and we would like to congratulate the St. Mary’s Cardinals for finishing the Class D2 Boy’s State Basketball Tournament in 3rd place!
In the D2 Boy’s Basketball Finale, it would be a matchup between the #1 seed EPPJ and the #2 seed Archangels Catholic! The 1st half featured plenty of defense, neither team gaining much groove offensively. But the Defenders were able to outscore the Wolfpack 12-5 in the 1st quarter, then 7-1 in the 2nd, bringing the score to 19-6 into halftime. Both offenses started gathering some momentum in the 2nd half, but Archangels Catholic kept their foot on the gas – outscoring EPPJ 31-24, defeating the Wolfpack 50-30. EPPJ finishes the NSAA Class D2 Boys State Basketball Tournament as Runner-up!
After a historic run for the EPPJ Wolfpack, they finish the Class D2 Boy’s State Basketball Tournament as State Runner-Up!
Picture courtesy of Antelope County News
KBRX would like to congratulate all three teams not just for their amazing seasons, but also for their success at the highest level in Classes C2 and D2!
