Class B: Elkhorn, Beatrice to play for state title

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Class B tournament results:

Elkhorn 50, Lincoln Pius X 38

Josh Lynch blocked shots and blocked any chance of escape for Lincoln Pius X.

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Pius X sophomore Stuart Sucha (right) looks for an opening past the defense of Elkhorn's Dan Spittler during the semifinals of Class B state basketball at Devaney. (Gwyneth Roberts)

Pius X sophomore Stuart Sucha (right) looks for an opening past the defense of Elkhorn's Dan Spittler during the semifinals of Class B state basketball at Devaney. (Gwyneth Roberts)

The 6-foot-8 Elkhorn senior slapped away nine shots, grabbed 10 rebounds, scored 15 points and led the Antlers to their second consecutive upset in the Class B Boys State High School Basketball Tournament on Friday at the Devaney Sports Center. Elkhorn upset two-time defending state champion and top-ranked Omaha Skutt in the first round Thursday.

“Shot blocks made a big difference, everything we did on offense,” said Pius X coach Ray Forycki. “Lynch and (Devan) Walsh made it so we couldn’t attack the basket. They stopped KC Hyland from scoring. And we are so dependent on KC scoring and attacking when we’re in trouble,  we never did find an answer.”

Elkhorn, in the Class B final for the first time in school history, struggled, too.

But an eight-point scoring burst to open the fourth quarter, on four points from Lynch, and two each from Walsh and Dan Spittler, proved to be the cushion that the Thunderbolts could never eliminate.

“They’re a good, physical team and they got into our heads with those blocked shots,” Forycki said.  “We usually had every shot inside contested and when we had an open layup, we acted surprised.”

Pius X hit just 27 percent from the field for the game.

Lynch, who will play at UNO next year, said he could feel the Thunderbolts’ frustration.

“You could see guys change their shots and see that we were in their heads every time they tried to come inside on offense,” he said. “I was getting more confidence and I know the rest of our team was getting more confident the longer the game went on.”

Only guard Joe Pleskac and forward Brandon Schlautman scored in double figures for the Bolts, who connected on just 7 of their first 33 shots. Pleskac had 13 points and Schlautman 10.

“We’ve got a good bunch of seniors on this team and we’ve got kids who have been to the championship level and they know what this is all about,” said Elkhorn coach Alex Bahe. “Jared Brill was one of the best quarterbacks in the state last year. Jake Ritzdorf was a shortstop on the state champion baseball team and Josh Raymond was the state tennis champion.”

--Ken Hambleton

Beatrice 40, Gretna 37

Slapping a full-court press on Beatrice with less than a minute left in the game was almost like throwing Brer Rabbit into the briar patch.

“We see a press like that and we should have somebody open to go down court. ... We did,” said Beatrice assistant coach Jim Edwards.

Gretna trapped Beatrice center Mike Fox on the sideline. Fox spun, but found Gretna’s 6-foot-7 Bryce Arp in his face.

“I couldn’t throw over the top, but I thought I could get a bounce pass to somebody and here came Trevor (Menke),” Fox said.

Fox passed behind his back to Menke, who sprinted the length of the court for a layup to give Beatrice a lead it never lost in a 40-37 Class B boys state semifinal Friday at the Devaney Sports Center.

“It was a terrible pass,” Fox said. “I didn’t have much of a choice.”

Menke disagreed.

“It was such a great pass,” he said. “I almost had to stop. My job is to create some space and Mike looks for me. If he gets fouled, he’s our best free-throw shooter. If he gets the pass off, I get an uncontested layup.”

That was just one of the key plays down the stretch by Beatrice’s 6-5 senior center.

Saddled with his third foul 21 seconds into the third quarter, Fox rode the bench much of the second half. But he scored on a spin move under the basket with 2:02 left, then made the assist to Menke with 52 seconds remaining  and it a pair of free throws with 14 seconds to play.

“We played a great game and they went to a very talented Mike Fox when they needed him,” said Gretna coach Brad Feeken. “The press was pretty effective. We forced them to call a timeout. And we had the ball trapped on the sideline and he made a great play with a pitch-and-go for that layup.”

Beatrice had plenty of heroes in its drive back to the championship game.

Senior Zach Ruiz and reserve Ben Murphy helped limit Gretna’s Arp to just two points and two rebounds and with Fox, held Dwight Jones to 10 points and four rebounds. Arp did block five shots, but Beatrice rebounded all five and scored on four of those offensive caroms.

“Jesse Genrich scored after a big steal, Witt (Justin Wittler) and Trevor (Menke) made big defensive plays all game long, too,” Beatrice coach Jim Weeks said.

“We played great defense and we don’t mind getting blocked as long as we get another shot,” Weeks said. “I think experience helped a bit. You always try to convince the kids why they can be successful. But I think having been to the finals last year here helped us.”

Beatrice won titles in 1998 and 2005 and finished runner-up to Omaha Skutt last year.

“It’s so hard to get back here two times in a row,” Weeks said. “We look at this as a four-team tournament with an extra game. Now, we get Elkhorn for that extra game.”

--Ken Hambleton