Class C-2: Elmwood-Murdock downs Grand Island CC for title

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Saturday's Class C-2 results:

Championship: Elmwood-Murdock 59, Grand Island CC 48

Finally, Elmwood-Murdock’s boys basketball team had a wow factor.

The team that all season won games with efficiency and tenaciousness, which disdained flashiness, stood before a blinding set of flashbulbs Saturday night at the Devaney Sports Center with the gleam of a state champion.

“They didn’t let the pressure get to them,” Elmwood-Murdock coach Terry Warner said.

Elmwood-Murdock, which entered the postseason ranked eighth, will end No. 1 after saving its very best performance for last. The Knights beat sixth-ranked Grand Island Central Catholic 59-48 for the Class C-2 title Saturday, impressing even themselves with some eye-popping numbers.

Consider that the Knights, facing a team noted for its hard-nosed defense, scored on more than 60 percent of their possessions. They finished 18-of-29 from the field (62 percent), sank 5 of 6 three-point shots and committed only nine turnovers.

And if you fall behind Elmwood-Murdock, forget it. The Knights were 18-of-26 from the free-throw line in the second half to keep Central Catholic at bay.

“This is how we plan to play,” said senior Kevin Zoz, noting that the Knights believed before the season that they could beat anybody in Class C-2 when they were on their game.

Indeed, that’s what Elmwood-Murdock did. Its losses, setbacks against Falls City Sacred Heart, Fort Calhoun and Mead, all were to teams from other classes. The Knights (23-3) knocked off defending champion Ponca in overtime in Friday’s semifinals.

“In that game, we had five turnovers in a row down the stretch that really hurt us,” Zoz said. “Today, we avoided that. It made things easier on us.”

So easy, in fact, that the Knights hardly celebrated like a team that had won the program’s first championship. Before this year, Elmwood-Murdock last played at state in 2004. Its only trip to the finals was in 2001.

Warner credited the Knights’ football prowess — they’ve made the playoffs eight straight years — for preparing them for the big stage.

“They’re a real disciplined team,” said Central Catholic coach Bill Gavers. “They executed their stuff, and that’s the game in a nutshell.”

Leading just 24-23 at the half, Elmwood-Murdock took control with some steady defensive work in the third quarter and some timely three-pointers.

First, it was Zoz, who after misfiring on a layup, slipped to the corner and drained a three-pointer after Jon Luetchens gathered the offensive rebound. Later in the third quarter, Matt Novak banked in a three-pointer. And to open the fourth quarter, Tyler Schmale hit a three-pointer that pushed the lead to 10 points.

From there it was a matter of holding onto the ball and hitting free throws. Zoz hit eight straight from the line in the second half to finish with 19 points. Trent Shrader added 14 points.

Spencer Fahey had 20 points for Central Catholic. The Crusaders (17-8) had reached the final by knocking off No. 1 Ravenna and No. 2 Deshler earlier in the tournament.

--Todd Henrichs

Third place: Ravenna 65, Ponca 55

Top-ranked Ravenna (25-2) bounced back from a semifinal loss to win the Class C-2 third-place game behind 16 points from seniors Josh Deines and Greg Nissen.

Reserves saw extensive action throughout although the Blue Jays maintained a comfortable lead throughout most of the game.

"Things like reloading come to mind," Ravenna coach Paul Beranek said. Garrett Peterson scored 10 points and Brent Smith added nine for third-ranked Ponca (22-4).