Cedar boys are shooting for a long run at State

HARTINGTON - After a long wait to get back to the state tournament in Lincoln, the Cedar Catholic boys basketball team to make this a visit.

The Trojans (19-6) enter State as the No. 5 seed and will open things up at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday against No. 4 Freeman (21-4) at Lincoln Northeast High School.

Cedar Catholic head coach Matt Steffen admitted to not being an expert on their opening state opponent but acknowledged that what he had seen impressed upon him the Trojans would have a tough opponent from the get-go.

The class C2 field is solid, and it includes No. 2 seed Yutan, who has made it to state for the fourth year in a row

The No. 1 seed Grand Island Central Catholic was the runnerup last year losing to BRLD in the final and BRLD is also back.

BRLD, the No. 6 seed, is the two-time defending champion.

Cedar Catholic is here thanks to an impressive 56-45 win over Wakefield last week in the District final.

After a slow start for both halftime, the Trojans used a 20-11 third quarter to assert their dominance and pull away.

Carson Arens scored 18 points while Myles Thoene and Jaxson Bernecker added 14 points each, with the latter also corralling eight rebounds.

“We have been playing really solid defense,” Steffen said. “We were extremely cold shooting in the first half, scoring three points in the first quarter, but because of our defense, we were only down one at half.”

A year ago, the Trojans had been in the same position of playing for a spot at state - as the No. 6 seed - but lost. That might have been just the right motivation these players needed to make the adjustments required to finish the job.

“I think the kids felt some pressure to win this game and may be why we shot so poorly in the first half,” Steffen said. “I think the pressure is off and I expect us to play well down at state.”

A win would give Cedar a potential opportunity to play the top seeds in a 6:15 p.m. Thursday semifinal.

Myles Thoene is pleased to be a member of the first team to get back to state since he and his fellow seniors were in junior high.

“It’s a big deal and we know how hard it was to get there,” Thoene said. “After last year, that really motivated us because we could teams and having trailed 16-15 at have and should have won that game. We wanted to go back and win it.

Cedar needed to take care of business by winning the District title, Thoene said.

“It’s a good feeling and all of us and the coaches have worked hard to get us to this point and prepare for each game and have our best shot at winning,” he said.

Thoene said that the team never took anyone lightly and were always ready for the grind every day of the season.

“It was our confidence and believed that we should be here and not just that we are,” Thoene said. “We are one of the best teams in the state and everything we start, starts with our defense. Down the stretch that has been the biggest difference and why we have been able to win these close

“That’s how we are going to keep winning.”

After five years missing at state, this year’s team was considered a serious contender for a state bid and instead of being scared of the pressure, the Trojans embraced it.

“There wasn’t too much pressure or tension and after last year and how it ended, we knew that this year was going to end differently,” Thoene said. “Our mindset and confidence were already there. The rankings are all nice and you still have to go out and play the game.

“That’s where we got prepared and knew what we needed to do; we would be down at state. I like where we are.”

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