Class C-2: Grand Island CC to face Elmwood-Murdock in final
Friday's Class C-2 results:
Grand Island CC 49, Ravenna 48
Hobbled by sore ankles and saddled with foul trouble, sixth-ranked Grand Island Central Catholic didn’t necessarily look equipped to knock off No. 1 Ravenna 49-48 in Friday’s Class C-2 state tournament semifinal.
“It was really tough,” junior Spencer Fahey said.
But that’s nothing new for Central Catholic, which played Ravenna, Beatrice, Boys Town and Hastings St. Cecilia in a rugged regular-season schedule, and whose players endured two challenging weeks of practice after a first-round subdistrict loss.
“We were fortunate to get here,” said Crusader coach Bill Gavers, “but we’ve taken advantage of that.”
Fahey’s two free throws with 8.8 seconds to play were the difference, as Central Catholic (17-7) upset the Blue Jays and reached the championship game for the first time since 2000.
Before both fouled out, Jake O’Connor scored 21 points despite having a sore leg and Sam Bolton added 13 for the Crusaders, who secured the win with Lucas Wagoner’s 13th rebound.
Ravenna’s last gasp ended as Adam Mingus tried to bank in a running eight-footer at the buzzer. The Blue Jays (24-2) had taken the lead on Greg Nissen’s free throws with 43.1 seconds to play.
The lead changed hands 11 times in the second half after a second quarter in which Ravenna turned a 17-8 deficit into a 24-17 lead.
“There’s a lot of hurt right now, lots of tears, because that’s what this means. They love playing with each other,” Ravenna coach Paul Beranek said. “You just had two heavyweights out there.”
Nissen scored 16 points and added 11 rebounds, and Mingus scored 14 points for Ravenna.
--Todd Henrichs
Elmwood-Murdock 58, Ponca 48 OT
The Knights outscored Ponca 12-2 in overtime to advance to the state title game against Grand Island CC on Saturday.
Trenton Shrader had 23 points for Elmwood-Murdock. Tyler Schmale had 11 and Kevin Zoz had 10.
Ponca trailed 32-23 heading into the fourth quarter but pulled even to force overtime. Brent Smith had 13 points for Ponca while Justin Blatchford and Garrett Peterson each had 11.
Stay with JournalStar.com for updates.
Grand Island CC 49, Ravenna 48
Hobbled by sore ankles and saddled with foul trouble, sixth-ranked Grand Island Central Catholic didn’t necessarily look equipped to knock off No. 1 Ravenna 49-48 in Friday’s Class C-2 state tournament semifinal.
“It was really tough,” junior Spencer Fahey said.
But that’s nothing new for Central Catholic, which played Ravenna, Beatrice, Boys Town and Hastings St. Cecilia in a rugged regular-season schedule, and whose players endured two challenging weeks of practice after a first-round subdistrict loss.
“We were fortunate to get here,” said Crusader coach Bill Gavers, “but we’ve taken advantage of that.”
Fahey’s two free throws with 8.8 seconds to play were the difference, as Central Catholic (17-7) upset the Blue Jays and reached the championship game for the first time since 2000.
Before both fouled out, Jake O’Connor scored 21 points despite having a sore leg and Sam Bolton added 13 for the Crusaders, who secured the win with Lucas Wagoner’s 13th rebound.
Ravenna’s last gasp ended as Adam Mingus tried to bank in a running eight-footer at the buzzer. The Blue Jays (24-2) had taken the lead on Greg Nissen’s free throws with 43.1 seconds to play.
The lead changed hands 11 times in the second half after a second quarter in which Ravenna turned a 17-8 deficit into a 24-17 lead.
“There’s a lot of hurt right now, lots of tears, because that’s what this means. They love playing with each other,” Ravenna coach Paul Beranek said. “You just had two heavyweights out there.”
Nissen scored 16 points and added 11 rebounds, and Mingus scored 14 points for Ravenna.
--Todd Henrichs
Elmwood-Murdock 58, Ponca 48 OT
The Knights outscored Ponca 12-2 in overtime to advance to the state title game against Grand Island CC on Saturday.
Trenton Shrader had 23 points for Elmwood-Murdock. Tyler Schmale had 11 and Kevin Zoz had 10.
Ponca trailed 32-23 heading into the fourth quarter but pulled even to force overtime. Brent Smith had 13 points for Ponca while Justin Blatchford and Garrett Peterson each had 11.
Stay with JournalStar.com for updates.
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