It's Championship Saturday in Lincoln at the 2017 Nebraska Boys State Basketball Championships. Today starting at 1 p.m., the Class B championship game begins with Gretna battling Scottsbluff. At 6 p.m., Papillion-LaVista will take on Norfolk for the Class A title. We will keep you updated throughout all of the action at Pinnacle Bank Arena this evening.
For a full schedule of this weekend's action, head here.
Update (8:24 p.m.):
Norfolk just shocked No. 1 Papillion-LaVista and is bringing home its first state championship in boy's basketball in over 30 years. The Panthers came away with a 68-49 win behind a double-double performance from Logan Strom. Strom finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds.
Papillion's Ed Chang was hobbled with a leg injury, but still managed to score ten points and grab five boards.
Update (7:48 p.m.):
Norfolk has stormed ahead and grabbed a 38-30 lead at the end of the third quarter of the Class A State Championship game. UNO basketball commit Ayo Akinwole leads all scorers with 13 points for Papio. Logan Strom of Norfolk has notched a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Update (7:14 p.m.):
We've got a back and forth game at the half, but Papio leads Norfolk 21-20. Papillion's Ed Chang and the Panthers' Logan Strom each lead all scorers with seven points, while Strom is nearing double-double territory with 10 rebounds.
Update (7:02 p.m.):
At the end of the first quarter of the Class A title game, Papillion-LaVista trails Norfolk 13-10. Logan Strom has seven rebounds and two points for the Panthers. Travis Larson leads all scorers with four points.
Before the game got started, each of the student sections had their own fun. Nebraska football's new wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson Jr. made an appearance at the front of Papillion-LaVista's student section, while Norfolk lit its section up with an "N" during introductions.
.@keyshawnnnn sitting front row in the @plhsmonarchs student section for the Class A State Championship game! pic.twitter.com/0hxdIleXYr
— Omaha Sports Insider (@OSIsports) March 12, 2017
The Norfolk student section getting a little creative before tipoff... @PantherPosse @NHSPanthers pic.twitter.com/O2TEuyjamb
— Omaha Sports Insider (@OSIsports) March 12, 2017
Finals: Gretna 55, Scottsbluff 53
What a game. With just 15 seconds left, Scottsbluff's Andru Kuxhausen hit two free throws to put the Bearcats up one. Gretna inbounded the ball and got it to Joseph Johnson just near the top of the key, and he nailed a game-winning three. The Dragons are your Class B champions for the second straight year.
Joseph Johnson called game. Gretna goes home with the Class B title behind the game winner from Johnson! @ghsdragons1 pic.twitter.com/IlXGWBzlqv
— Omaha Sports Insider (@OSIsports) March 11, 2017
Update (2:12 p.m.):
The Bearcats are clinging to a 36-35 lead. Scottsbluff's Walker has now notched a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds, while Gretna's Brown is nearing one himself with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Update (1:36 p.m.):
Scottsbluff has clawed in front of the Dragons with help from a near double-double from Landon Walker. Walker recorded eight points and 10 rebounds in the first half for the Bearcats. Trey Brown leads Gretna in scoring with seven points, and has also added five boards.
Update (1:21 p.m.):
At the end of the first quarter, Gretna leads Scottsbluff 13-11 in the Class B championship game. The Dragons' Trey Brown leads all scorers with five points. Brown also added three rebounds for Gretna in the opening period.
FINAL: Norfolk 53, Omaha South 38
Norfolk came out and knocked off Omaha South to head to the Class A finals tomorrow. The Panthers will try to keep its cinderella run alive as they take on No. 1 Papillion-LaVista at 6 p.m.
Update (9:36 p.m.):
Omaha South and Norfolk are battling for the final spot in the Class A state final game tomorrow, and so far it's been all Norfolk. The Panthers lead Omaha South 21-14 at the end of the first half. The winner of this game will face off against No. 1 Papillion-LaVista in the final.
FINAL: Papio-LaVista 62, Kearney 50
Kearney fought tooth-and-nail to get back in it in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Monarchs were just too much to handle for the Bearcats. Papillion-LaVista will take on the winner of tonight's semifinal matchup between Omaha South and Norfolk in the Class A final tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Update (8:00 p.m.):
At the end of the third, Papio has extended its lead to 38-29 over the Bearcats. Some potentially bad news for Monarchs fans is that Ed Chang came down hard after being fouled and is being treated behind the bench.
Update (7:34 p.m.):
At the half, Papio leads Kearney 25-20. The Bearcats took Ed Chang off the floor for most of the first half as he picked up three early fouls, but Papio was able to overcome.
Update (7:17 p.m.):
Papio's Ed Chang has picked up two early fouls, which could cause some problems for the Monarchs. However, the Monarch's lead Kearney 12-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Update (7:12 p.m.):
The first semifinal for Class A between Papillion-LaVista and Kearney is underway and it's a battle early. Papio's Ed Chang has the Monarch's fired up early with two big blocks, but with two minutes left in the first quarter, the Bearcats hold a 9-7 lead.
Semifinal updates:
FINAL: Scottsbluff 76, Aurora 67
Despite five lead changes in the first half and a three point Aurora lead in the first quarter, Scottsbluff took the lead in the second quarter and never looked back. The Bearcats will move on to face Gretna in the Class B state finals tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Update (4:16 p.m.):
While Aurora held a three point lead at the end of the first quarter, Scottsbluff ended the second quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 34-28 lead at the end of the first half. The winner will head to the state finals to take on No. 1 seeded Gretna tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Update (4:02 p.m.):
The first quarter of the final Class B semifinal matchup between Aurora and Scottsbluff was a battle. Aurora held the lead for most of the first, but Scottsbluff battled back. The Huskies' Thomas Leininger's layup gives Aurora a 17-14 lead heading into the second quarter.
FINAL: Gretna 73, Alliance 46
The Dragons put on an absolute clinic in the first Class B semifinal of the afternoon in a 73-46 route of the Alliance Bulldogs. Gretna will head to the Class B championship game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena and will face off against the winner of the Scottsbluff vs. Aurora matchup.
Update (2:30 p.m.):
In the first semifinal matchup of the afternoon, Gretna and Alliance are battling for a spot in tomorrow's Class B state championship game. At the end of the first half, Gretna holds a firm 42-18 lead over the Bulldogs.
Quarterfinal updates:
Update (10:39 p.m.):
Final: Omaha South 67, Lincoln Pius X 54:
Omaha South went on a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter taking a 46-23 lead with 5:40 on the clock. Lincoln Pius X cut a 23 point deficit to only 12 in four minutes. The Thunderbolts trailed the Packers 60-48 with 1:30 to play.
Lincoln Pius X trailed Omaha South 65-52 with 47 seconds remaining. No. 7 seed Omaha South upset No. 2 seed Lincoln Pius X 67-54 to advance to the semifinals.
No. 7 seed Omaha South will face No. 6 seed Norfolk Friday, March 10th at 8:45 p.m in the Class A semifinals.
Update (10:09 p.m.):
Lincoln Pius X came out with a strong defense in the second half. The Thunderbolts were able to hold the Packers to only 2 points in the first six minutes of the second half. Lincoln Pius X managed to score seven points on Omaha South with 1:57 remaining in the third quarter.
Although the Thunderbolts put the pressure on it wasn't enough to stop the Packers in the third quarter. Omaha South held a 37-23 lead over Lincoln Pius X to end the third quarter.
Update (9:59 p.m.):
No. 7 Omaha South faced No. 2 seed Lincoln Pius X in the final game of the Class A quarterfinals. The Packers offense took it to the Thunderbolts in the first half. Omaha South managed to score 31 points on the No. 2 seed in the first half. It wasn't just the Packers offense that excelled but their defense held the Thunderbolts to only 14 points on the half.
Omaha South holds a 31-14 lead at halftime.
Update (8:54 p.m.):
Final: Norfolk 63, Creighton Prep 59:
Despite entering the fourth quarter with a seven point deficit Creighton Prep never let down. The Junior Jays trailed by four with 4:19 remaining but they continued to put up a fight. With just 18.4 seconds to play the Panthers led 52-50.
Creighton Prep's William Hanafan hit a deep three-pointer with seconds left to send the game into overtime 53-53.
?Creighton Prep's William Hanafan with a deep THREE to send it into OT! @CPVarsitySports pic.twitter.com/dF6aSXbgeP
— Grace Yowell (@Grace_ayowell) March 10, 2017
The Junior Jays were first on the board in overtime taking a 55-53 lead at the start. Norfolk answered with a three from Christian Eisenhauer to take back the lead 56-55.
Creighton Prep took its last lead of the night with 2:15 on the clock, after that it was the Panthers game. A tied game 58-58 was ended by Norolk's Travis Larson's dunk with 1:26 on the clock.
Panther's Luke Kluver sank a free throw to seal Norfolks 63-59 win over Creighton Prep. No. 6 seed Norfolk advances to the Class A semifinals where they will face No. 6 seed Omaha South. The game will start at 8:45 p.m. Friday, March 10th at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Update (7:59 p.m.):
The Panthers started the second half with a 7-0 run including a dunk by Logan Strom to help take a 34-24 lead with 5:01 left in the third quarter. Norfolk continued the momentum creating a 10 point lead at one point in the third quarter. Creighton Prep made a run to end the third quarter cutting the Panthers lead to 45-38.
Update (7:35 p.m.):
Norfolk didn't give up in the second quarter scoring 18 points on Creighton Prep. The Junior Jays held a 20-19 lead with 4:03 remaining in the first half. The Panthers took a one point lead with 2:03 on the clock but the Junior Jays answered with a three-pointer taking the lead back 24-22.
It didn't stop there, Norfolk answered with a three-pointer of its own taking a one point lead. The Panthers then knocked down a jumper give them a 27-24 lead at halftime.
Update (7:28 p.m.):
No. 3 seed Creighton Prep faced No. 6 seed Norfolk Thursday night for the Class A quarterfinals. The Junior Jays took it to the Panthers in the first quarter taking a 16-9 lead.
Update (7:15 p.m.):
Final: Kearney 61, Omaha Central 50:
Kearney was able to put a stop to Eagles comeback in the second half. The Bearcats didn't allow the Eagles to make a run in the third quarter keeping 43-38 lead. Kearney sealed the win in the fourth quarter scoring 18 points on Omaha Central.
No. 4 seed Kearney takes on No. 1 seed Papillion-La Vista in the Class A semifinals Friday, March 10th at 7 p.m.
Update (4:37 p.m.):
Omaha Central stepped it up in the second quarter making a huge comeback. Kearney's defense was unable to stop the Eagles allowing them 19 points in the second quarter. Not only did Omaha Central's offense step up but its defense shut down Kearney only allowing them seven points.
Despite making a comeback Kearney led 28-27 heading into the locker room.
Update (4:18 p.m.):
No. 5 seed Omaha Central takes on No. 4 seed Kearney in the second game of Class A quarterfinals. The Bearcats started off hot going on a 7-0 run in the first three minutes. The Eagles first points came over three minutes into the first quarter. The Bearcats held a secure 19-8 lead over Omaha Central with 1:22 left in the first quarter.
Kearney's offense and defense continued to shut down Omaha Central ending the first quarter with a 21-8 lead.
Update (3:37 p.m.):
Final: Papillion-La Vista 70, Millard South 50:
The Monarchs took a 17 point lead over the Patriots with five minutes on the clock. Papillion-La Vista's Ed Chang threw down a dunk to give the Monarchs a 20 point lead 62-42 near the end of the game. Millard South attempted to comeback at the end with a 4-0 run but it wasn't enough to stop the Monarchs.
No. 1 seed Papillion-La Vista defeated No. 8 seed Millard South 70-50 in the Class A quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals where they will meet up with No. 4 seed Kearney. The game will be played Friday, March 10th starting at 7 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Update (3:07 p.m.):
Millard South failed to make a comeback in the third quarter allowing Papillion-La Vista 12 points. The Monarchs defense only allowed the Patriots eight points in the third quarter.
Papillion-La Vista finished the third quarter with a 16 point lead 51-35.
Update (2:40 p.m.):
No. 1 seed Papillion-La Vista faced No. 8 seed Millard South in the first Class A quarterfinals. The Monarchs controlled the first half starting with a 17-11 lead after the first quarter. Papillion-La Vista started to create space between Millard South taking a 14 points lead with three minutes to play in the first half. The Patriots defense couldn't put a big enough stop on the Monarchs allowing them a 37-22 lead with over a minute to play in the first half.
Papillion-La Vista continued to dominate the first half heading into the locker room with a 39-27 lead over Millard South.
