The Nebraska high school boys basketball season came to its conclusion over the weekend as championships were decided in six classes on “Championship Saturday”.
The tone for a great day of championship games would be set early as the opening game of the day would be the first of three games that would end in overtime. Humphrey Lindsay Holy Family fought back against Howells Dodge to take the title. Holy Family overcame a ten point deficit heading into the fourth quarter to force overtime and then outscored Howells Dodge 10-5 in overtime to win 52-47. Humphrey Lindsay Holy Family was led by Jacob Sjuts who led all scorers with 24 points. Howells Dodge was led by Blake Sindelar who had a team high 18 points.
Auburn secured its third straight championship by outlasting Adams Central to win the C1 title. It was a tough defensive battle to start as the score was 12-6 in favor of Auburn at halftime. Auburn held Adams Central without a field goal in the opening quarter to build a 10-1 lead and then held off the Patriots in the second half to win 41-33. Auburn was led by Daniel Frary who had 14 points.
The Class B championship was the second game of the day to go to overtime. It was a low scoring affair with Beatrice winning 36-34. Beatrice had two players finish in double figures to lead the way. Devin Smith finished with 11 and Bennett Crandall had 10. It’s Beatrice’s 8th state title in school history and their first since 2008.
Falls City Sacred Heart repeated as Class D2 champions collecting their 11th state title in school history. After coming back and barely getting by Mullen in their opening game of the tournament, the Irish defeated Humphrey St. Francis in the semifinals and ran away from Parkview Christian in the championship game outscoring Parkview 37-18 in the second half for a 64-47 win. Sacred Heart was led by Jack Fiegener who led all scorers with 22 points.
The Class A final was a classic as #1 Millard North met #2 Bellevue West for the second year in a row for the championship. Last year Bellevue West hoisted the championship trophy but this year Millard North would finally claim its first state championship in school history. The playmaking and shot making was at a high level as the two teams went back and forth in the second half and would have to go into overtime before a champion was crowned. In the end, Millard North would hang on for an 84-78 victory. North was led by Hunter Sallis who had 25 points and Jarin Johnson had 24. Chucky Hepburn led Bellevue West with 25.
The final game of the day featured GICC against Yutan for the Class C2 championship. Grand Island Central Catholic pulled away in the 2nd half to win the school’s second state championship as they defeated Yutan in the C2 title game 55-34.
In the Class C1 3rd place consolation game played Saturday, Concordia defeated Wayne 60-46.
