Pius X holds off Viking rallies

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BY KEN HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star

Lincoln Pius X made its boys basketball season opener a pressing engagement.

The preseason Class B No. 7 Thunderbolts pressed and impressed No. 3 Waverly in an 80-65 victory Thursday night at Bishop Flavin Gym.

“We knew where the ball was likely to go, so we pressed from the start and it worked pretty well all night,” said Pius X coach Ray Forycki. “They want to get the ball to Tyler (Evans), and who wouldn’t, and we thought we could give them a different look and some problems with our press.”

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Pius X defenders Cole Kennet (24), Matt Gibbs (54) and Trevor Johnson (30) bottle up Waverly's Evan Kucera on Thursday. (William Lauer)

Pius X defenders Cole Kennet (24), Matt Gibbs (54) and Trevor Johnson (30) bottle up Waverly's Evan Kucera on Thursday. (William Lauer)

Pius X raced to a 22-10 lead early in the second quarter, and despite three runs by Waverly that closed the score to two points twice, the Bolts never lost the lead.

“It was a matter of playing catch up all night long, and we never got it all back,” said Waverly coach Gary Nunnally. “Ray Forycki had his team really well prepared, and we were a little too soft and timid at the start. Their defense really did the job, and their offense did a better job attacking and going strong to the basket.”

Evans finished with 23 points for Waverly, including 11 in the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-2 junior, who is already attracting attention from college coaches in the stands Thursday night, brought the Vikings back from near oblivion in the third quarter.

Trailing 36-27 at halftime, Waverly cut the lead to 39-37 in the first four minutes of the third quarter. The Vikings rallied on two steals converted to layups by Evans and three consecutive baskets by 6-foot-6 center Evan Kucera, including one on an assist from Evans and another on an assist by Derek Hilt.

But Pius X guard Jack Burt, who scored 18, hit a three-pointer and scored again on a steal and a layup and a free throw in the next 20 seconds. Pius X junior Trevor Johnson, who scored 22, then hit a layup to increase the lead to 10 points.

“We had three guys on the court who had never played varsity basketball before, and Waverly took advantage and came back on us the first time,” said Forycki. “The next time, we left them out there, and with some strong play from Stuart Sucha, Burt and Johnson, we pulled away.”

Waverly made one last run on a steal and a layup by Evans to cut the lead to 56-51 with 6:25 left, but Pius outscored Waverly 24-9 in the next five minutes.

“Waverly is a quality team and we held up pretty well,” said Forycki. “That’s a good sign. We’ve got seven or eight guys who are going to play a lot for us, and I think by the second half, they all did something positive for us.

“Chad Gibney hit some threes (three of them) in the second quarter, Matt Gibbs spelled Billy Vogel against Kucera and Dustin Oberembt did a nice job off the bench for us, too. I liked the effort and the team play all game long.”

Pius X will play Class B No. 5 Omaha Skutt on Friday at 8 p.m. in the finals of the early season tournament.

Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.