The end of the basketball season is always crazy, especially with the tight turnaround from subdistrict play to district finals. But, we saw a handful of teams advance and in subdistrict play, and play in district finals. Let's dive into this week's blog.
Alma
The Cardinals were arguably in one of the toughest subdistricts in the state, the C2-11. They were the #3 seed and played Perkins County. The Cardinals dropped their matchup against Perkins County, a close, close game, 40-38. Zavier Mitchell led Alma with 13 points and Tucker Biskup had 11.
The Cardinals end the season at 17-6. This young team has a ton to look forward too as the future rolls on. They lose one senior a big one, Jakin Neal, but they will return four starters and some key bench players. This will be a team to watch in the next couple of years.
Arapahoe
Arapahoe competed in the D1-9 subdistrct which was one of the most wide-open subs. They played Bertrand in the opening round and lost, 45-43. This was Arapahoe as the #5 seed and Bertrand as the #4 seed. Will Cacy was big for Arapahoe with 18 points. Trenton Roskop had nine points and 13 rebounds.
The Warriors end the season at 12-13. Another team to watch next year. They return a bulk of their roster including all five starters so, watch out.
Bertrand
As mentioned, was the #4 seed in the D1-9 subdistrict tournament. They played Arapahoe first and came away with a 45-43 win. Dawson Newcomb led the way for Bertrand with nine points. Marshall Steinbrink had eight. Three other Vikings scored seven; Scott Bieker, Marcus Hernandez, and Thunder Nelson.
Bertrand then faced Loomis who was the #1 seed. The #4 seed Bertrand lost, 61-55. Nelson had 14 for Bertrand and Hernandez had 10.
Bertrand ends the year at 11-10 and they will lose a couple of seniors, but every year, Coach Craig Newcomb has this team ready to go.
Cambridge
The Trojans competed in subdistrict and district play last week and found some success, and dropped games too. In the D1-10 sub, Cambridge came in as the #2 seed. They played Hitchcock County, the #3 seed to start. They were able to win, 57-39. Brady Ahlemeyer had 18 points, all of them coming from the three-point line. Carson Trompke had 10 and Ben Hoberty scored 13.
Cambridge then faced DCS and lost 54-32. The Trojans have struggled with the Tigers all season long and did in the subdistrict title game. Hoberty was the high-point man with 16. Cambridge though, had enough powerpoints to get a district final.
The Trojans drew the 14-seed and played 3-seeded Ansley-Litchfield on Saturday in the D1-3 District Final. Cambridge could not get much going as they fell 46-23. You can read the game story here as it was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup.
Dundy County Stratton
DCS competed in D1-10 subdistrict subdistrict play and had a nice week. First, they played #4 seed Wauneta-Palisade. The Tigers were the #1 seed. They beat the Broncos 58-29. Lane. Bybee led the Tigers with 19 points, Jackson Kerchal had 14, and Derek Noffsinger had 11.
The Tigers faced Cambridge in the subdistrict title matchup and won big, 54-32. Bybee was big again with 20 points, Kerchal with 12, and Brodie Rogers had 10.
The Tigers then advanced to the D1-7 District Title Game on Tuesday evening and beat Sutton, 46-33. You can read that game story here.
They are now 22-5 and they are the #5 seed in Class D1 and will play Ainsworth, the #4 seed on Thursday March 7th at 10:45 A.M. from Pinnacle Bank Arena. This is their third straight appearance at state.
Hitchcock County
The Falcons played in the D1-11 subdistrict as the #3 seed. They played against Cambridge, the #2 seed. They dropped the matchup, 57-39. Despite some solid shooting to begin the game, the Falcons could not keep up with the Trojans.
Hitchcock County ends the season at 11-12.
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Maywood-Hayes Center
Maywood-Hayes Center was the #1 seed in the D2-8 Subdistrict and played well. First, they played #4 seed Wallace and won 77-46. Jerry Ingison had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Haydn Farr scored 15 points. The Wolves faced #2 seeded Medicine Valley and won big in that one, 73-50. Ingison had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Farr scored 15 points and 11 rebounds. Jaxson Anders had 12 points in the game.
MHC then hosted the D2-2 District final against #15 seed Potter-Dix.
The #2 seeded Wolves won 60-21. Ingison scored 20 points and Farr had 11. This is the second straight year the Wolves have qualified for the NSAA State Basketball Tournament. It will run from March 6th-9th. They are 22-3 now. The Wolves are the #2 seed in Class D2 and will play #7 seed Elm Creek on Wednesday, March 6th at 6:00 P.M. from the Devaney Center.
Maxwell
The Wildcats competed in the D1-12 subdistrict last week and won one game, and fell in the other. Maxwell was the #4 seed. First, they beat #5 seed Sutherland in a nail-biter, 37-35. Jesse Reyes had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds along with four steals too.
Maxwell then faced North Platte St. Pat's and lost 68-31. Levi Huffman had eight points in the loss. Maxwell ends the season at 7-16. This team will lose a great shooter in Levi Huffman and other important seniors, but Head Coach Bryce Byrn has plenty to build off of for the future.
Medicine Valley
The Raiders played in the D2-8 subdistrict as the #2 seed. First, they played Southwest and beat the #3 seeded Roughriders, 50-44. Lucas Einspahr had 16 points in the win. Austin Roblee had eight assists. Ethan Brown added 12 points.
The Raiders then had to face the #1 seed Maywood-Hayes Center and fell 73-50. Einspahr had 16 points again to lead Medicine Valley. The Raiders end the season at 10-13. This team has a ton of upside moving forward. They will be a fun team to watch.
Paxton
Paxton competed in the D2-10 subdistrict tournament last week and picked their way through to get to a district final. They began with a 58-40 win over Garden County. in a #2 seed versus #3 seed matchup. Paxton got a big game from Josh Eakins with 23 points. Griffin Prelinger had 11 points in the game too.
The Tigers faced #1 seeded Hyannis in the subdistrict final and won 46-43. Maddex McConnel had 14 points and Josh Eakins scored 11. The Tigers then played in the D2-5 District Final against Elm Creek. The #12 seeded Tigers fought hard but fell 50-44. It was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup so you can read the game story here.
It's no surprise in his first two years as the head coach, and of course many years as an assistant, Justin Hardin has this team playing well. They play hard and together. Paxton has built an incredible program and culture. Safe to say, they will always be a tough out. Paxton ends the year at 15-10.
Southern Valley
Southern Valley was the #2 seed in the D1-9 subdistrict tournament and played #3 seeded Overton. The Eagles fell in a close game, 65-62. Isaac Hamilton played well for Southern Valley with 27 points. Kamden Bose had 11 points and eight rebounds and Kody Collins had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Southern Valley will lose some big seniors like Kamden Bose, Rian Grove, and Kody Collins. But they do return a nice core for the future. Southern Valley ends the season at 10-14.
Southwest
Southwest played in the D2-8 subdistrict and was the #3 seed. They played #2 seeded Medicine Valley and lost 50-44. Houston Billeter had a nice game with 17 points. Jakub Walz was great on the glass with 13 rebounds.
Southwest ends the season at 6-15. They will lose some important seniors, but with Houston Billeter coming back, who he will be a junior, the Roughriders have a nice player to build around.
Wallace
Wallace played in the D2-8 subdistrict as the #4 seed and they had to take on #1 seed Maywood-Hayes Center. The Wildcats lost, 77-46. Matt Lungrin had 21 points to lead the Wildcats. It would have been interesting to see what this team could have done at full strength all season. They missed Jason Fisher a lot. They will lose senior Matt Lungrin who was huge, but young talent will grow for the Wildcats. They finish the season at 7-16.
Wauneta-Palisade
The Broncos faced DCS in the first round of the D1-10 subdistrict. Wauneta-Palisade was the #4 seed and DCS was the #1 seed. The Tigers were able. to beat the Broncos at 58-29. Wauneta-Palisade competed hard all season.
The Broncos finish the season at 1-19.