The Winnebago Boys Basketball Team won 61-51 over Pierce in the C1-5 Sub-District Final at Norfolk High on Thursday, February 22nd before losing 63-62 to Boone Central/Newman Grove in the C1-3 District Final at Northeast Community College in Norfolk last Monday night.
The Indians jumped out to a 19-5 lead on the Bluejays at the end of one before winning the 2nd quarter 13-11 to take a 32-16 lead into the locker room.
Winnebago won the 3rd quarter 16-14 to go up 48-30 at the end of three.
Pierce outscored the Indians 21-13 in the 4th quarter.
D'Von LaPointe led Winnebago with 26 points while Manape Cleveland totaled 15 points and 7 steals. Makoonce Littlevoice added 9 points and 9 rebounds while Lance Denney scored 7 points.
The Indians led the Cardinals 10-7 after one, and outscored them 23-10 in the 2nd quarter to take a 33-17 lead into the locker room.
Boone Central/Newman Grove outscored Winnebago 27-18 in the 3rd quarter to make it a 51-44 game at the end of three.
The Cardinals won the 4th quarter 19-11.
Cleveland had 21 points to lead the way. LaPointe added 11 while Denney notched 9 points and 11 rebounds. Ed Payer added 8 points while Maurice Scott totaled 7.
Head Coach Jeff Berridge on the loss. "We kind of got in foul trouble. A couple of our main guys got in foul trouble. They did alright. First half, second half they kind of got shook up, so that's what happened there. But we make a couple more free throws we win.
The Indians qualified for state with a wildcard.
Winnebago (20-6) takes on Syracuse (17-9) in the first round of State at 3:45 Thursday afternoon at the Devaney Center in action that can be heard on 107.9 the Bull.
The Rockets beat Auburn 64-60 in the C1-1 District Final at Nebraska City Lourdes last Monday night.
Berridge says his team has to approach the matchup like it's the State Championship. "I like it, but they're there for a reason, so we can't take nobody lightly. So we're just going in like we're playing the No. 1 team, so we're just going to come ready, and my boys are hungry after the loss."
Syracuse is led in scoring by Ben Nannen and Wil McCoy, who come in averaging 18 points and 15 points a game, respectively.
I think the Indians have a chance to get to the state championship and win it.
I feel Winnebago can beat the Rockets, and whichever team wins the 3 and 6 seed game in the semifinals, either Broken Bow or Boone Central/Newman Grove.
Wahoo figures to be very tough if they get to Championship Saturday though.
The other side appears to be pretty stacked with the likes of the Warriors, Grand Island Central Catholic, and Lincoln Christian, but there's some talent on this side of the bracket as well.
The Indians have to keep the pedal to the medal, keep the foot on full throttle for 4 quarters so to speak.
Winnebago can't let Syracuse or any other team come back and steal one from them if they get out to a big lead.
The Indians let one get away against the Cardinals I thought after getting up big at halftime.
The good news for Winnebago is it's a whole new season and the Indians are at state for the 4th straight year.
Berridge says he feels his team matches up good with the Rockets. "Well I like it a lot. Stuff I seen on them they like to shoot the ball, so we like to shoot the ball, so it should be a fun game, and a lot of shots go in it so it should be fun."
Berridge adds playing Winnebago basketball is the key to a win. "Just sticking to our style and making them play Winnebago basketball, and not us getting stuck playing Syracuse basketball. So that's the main goal for me is let my guys go out and play their game and have fun."
It should be a fun and exciting game and state tournament as a whole, and I'm excited for things to start.
Tip-off on Thursday is set for 3:45 p.m. on the Bull.
No comments:
Post a Comment