District champs

HARTINGTON - Cedar Catholic took advantage of some home cooking and defensive intensity to turn away Lutheran High Northeast here at the Monsignor Werner Activities Center, 53-48 on Feb. 27 to earn the Trojans their fourth consecutive trip to Lincoln for the Class C2 Nebraska Basketball Championships, March 6 through March 9.

“We had a solid three days of preparing for Lutheran High over the weekend,” Cedar Catholic coach, Nick Haselhorst said. “We expected it to be a physical battle and we expected t0 get Lutheran High’s very best, it was a hard-fought game and a great atmosphere.”

After trailing 12-11 after the opening quarter, the Trojans would use a brilliant second frame to establish a halftime lead.

“We were ready to play, we played with great defensive intensity, we weathered some foul trouble throughout the game, we finished well around the rim and we were fortunate enough to get a lead and keep it”, Haselhorst said.

The Trojans took a 30-22 lead to the halftime break and bumped it to 13 points in the third.

“We extended the lead to 13 points late in the third quarter,” Haselhorst said. “But Lutheran High responded to end the quarter and made a run at us throughout the fourth quarter.”

Some defensive stops, some tough rebounding and togetherness pushed the Trojans to the final score and to Lincoln.

“I was proud of the way we stuck together, regardless the circumstances,” said the coach. “We fought for tough rebounds and made extra-effort plays throughout the night.

“In the fourth quarter, we were on our heels a bit, but we got some defensive stops, we handled their ball pressure, and we made some timely plays offensively. Then we stepped up and made some key free throws to close the game out.”

Nolan Becker was the key offensive ingredient for Cedar Catholic, pouring in 22 points on the night on 9-of-12 shooting from the field.

Braeden Reifenrath added nine points, Alex Kuehn and Jaymison Cattau each threw in six and Ty Thoene chipped in five.

Reifenrath also pulled down seven rebounds; Kuehn, Cattau, Becker and Thoene each grabbed four missed shots.

Cattau and Becker each dished out three assists and Becker had a couple of blocks.

The win in the C2-3 District Finals will send the Trojans to Lincoln for the fourth consecutive season.

Cedar Catholic is set to take on 17-8 Lincoln Lutheran in the opening round March 6 at 3:15 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln as the No. 3 seed in the tournament.

Ponca takes on Norfolk Catholic on the other side of the bottom bracket with the winners set to play at 3:15 p.m. on March 8 back at Devaney.

The Class C2 State Championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 4:15 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena with a third-place game slated for 9 a.m. March 9 at Lincoln Northwest High School.

LHNE 12 10 9 17 — 48 Cedar 11 19 11 12 — 53

P=Points, R=Rebounds, A=Assists, S=Steals, B=Blocks.

LUTHERAN HIGH NE (19-6): Anden Schold 2-5 0-2 4P, 1A; Emerson Meyer 0-0 0-2 0P, 1R; Tate Collison 1-1 0-3 2P, 2R; Josh Rojas 5-11 4-4 14P, 3R, 1A, 2S; Braden Feddern 5-16 2-5 14P, 4R, 2A, 3S, 1B; Landon Johnson 2-6 0-0 4P, 3R, 1S; Gavin Feddern 3-4 2-4 8P, 8R, 1A, 2S; Gavin Kinter 1-1 0-0 2P. CEDAR CATHOLIC (19-6): Alex Kuehn 2-4 2-2 6P, 4R, 1A, 1B; Jaymison Cattau 2-7 1-2 6P, 4R, 3A, 1B; Nolan Becker 9-12 4-9 22P; 4R, 3A, 2B; Ty Thoene 1-2 3-4 5P, 4R, 2A; Mason Baller 1-2 0-0 3P, 1R, 1A;