Update: 2018 Boys State Basketball Tournament Regional Glance

Tip-off in Lincoln Thursday won’t include any teams from Nebraska’s Panhandle but there are a handful of schools from the west we see often in the regular season that will be vying for state championships.

 

Class C1 – #1 Wahoo 87, #8 Ogallala 44

Ogallala lost a battle of two balanced scoring offenses in its C1 state opening round loss to Wahoo 87-44 Thursday. The top-seed Warriors have five key scorers and blitzed Ogallala in the first quarter behind the arc with six threes from Brendan Lacey to take a 33-14 lead after one period.  Ogallala saw 17 points from Cameron Raffaeli and 16 from Adam Kroeger, who will both be back next season, but Ogallala didn’t get to 34 total points until the end of the third quarter and the Indians close out the season at 13-15.

 

Class C2 – #8 Perkins County  vs. #1 Ponca

Coach Shawn Cole leads the Perkins County Plainsmen into its 3rd state tournament as a consolidated school and first trip since the 2008 brackets.  Of course those that have been around western Nebraska for years know that Grant High School was a total powerhouse for years making 31 tourneys and winning seven state titles, so there is a basketball pedigree from the area that Perkins will take into Lincoln.

Senior guard Josh Johnston is the teams leading scorer at 13.5 a game and has a 6’4″ forward to utilize in the post in Charles Johnson who scores almost 12 points a night.

Perkins enters the tournament after knocking out Bridgeport in the C2-6 district championship game 43-42.

Top-seed Ponca will be a massive challenge with its four-headed scoring monster of guys all between 6’2″ and 6’6.”  Ponca is 27-1 and making its 16th state trip while looking to repeat as champions.

Perkins County-Ponca gets underway at Lincoln Southeast High School Thursday evening at 6:00 MT.

 

Class D1 –  #7 Lourdes CC 63, #2 Paxton 57

The two-seed Paxton Tigers were upset in the D1 bracket by seven-seed Lourdes Central Catholic 63-57.  LCC had 22 and 21-point scorers to overcome 6’9” sophomore Blake Brewster’s 18 Paxton points.  Despite an eight-loss season Lourdes Central Catholic stays alive at state and will be in the semifinals Friday looking to continue its attempt at back-to-back D1 titles.

 

Class D2 –  #1 Falls City Sacred Heart 63, #8 Cody-Kilgore 20

Top-seed Falls City Sacred Heart knocked out the Cody-Kilgore Cowboys 63-20 in the D2 bracket opener. It was over early with the Irish leaping out to a 23-4 lead in the first quarter with a blistering three-point shooting strategy that accounted for five of the nine made triples on the day. Cody-Kilgore ended up with only one more made basket than fouls, 8-to-7, and finishes the season at 12-9.

 

Class D2 – #3 Mullen vs #6 Mead

The Mullen Broncos are 19-5 and are the three-seed looking to win back-to-back D2 state titles after cracking through the for the school’s first championship last winter.

The Broncos look to be best in the low block with two forwards that are seniors, and who account for over 25 points a game.  Maybe the X-factor is at the guard spot where freshman Brendon Walker has experienced a good inaugural year as a scorer and distributor.

Mullen gets to see the team it beat in last season’s finals 29-28 in this year’s opener, the Mead Raiders.  Mead is an interesting team because although it’s the #6 seed, Mead is under .500 at 11-12 but somehow upset FCSH to make the trip to Lincoln.

Mead is no stranger to state with 24 appearances but this year relies heavily on one player: senior guard Josh Quinn scores 18.1 a game and leads the team defensively with 50 steals.  He’ll have help from a pair of six footers that combine for 18 more points.

Mullen and Mead play the final D2 game of opening day at 7:45 MT in Lincoln Northeast’s gym.

 

Here’s a look at the NSAA Boys State Tournament bracket.