Auburn and Pierce boys to play for Shootout title; Pender and Wayne clash for girls' title
Auburn and Pierce will square off in the boys’ championship of the Great Northeast Nebraska Shootout, while hometown Wayne will meet Pender in the girls’ final at Wayne State's Rice Auditorium.
By News Channel NebraskaWAYNE, Neb. – Auburn and Pierce will square off in the boys’ championship of the Great Northeast Nebraska Shootout, while hometown Wayne will meet Pender in the girls’ final at Wayne State's Rice Auditorium.
Iowa State football signee Ben Brahmer topped his day-one point total by erupting for 30 points in Pierce’s 59-39 win over Cedar Catholic in the first boys’ semifinal, giving him 57 points for the tournament so far. Abram Scholting added 19 for the Bluejays, while Tyan Baller led Cedar Catholic with 11.
The Bluejays will meet perennial power Auburn after the Bulldogs stifled Wayne, 46-31. The Blue Devils held Maverick Binder to just three points a day after he went off for 32, but the Bulldogs got three players in double figures to replace Binder’s production.
The frontcourt combination of Carson Leslie (14), Nixon Ligouri (11) and Skylar Roybal (10) scored 35 of Auburn’s 46 points.
Alex Phelps and Sedjro Agoumba paced Wayne with eight points each.
Pender’s girls moved to 9-1 and secured a place in Friday’s championship round with a 55-45 win over Pierce.
Maya Dolliver scored a game-high 20 points for the Pendragons, giving her 41 points for the tournamnent so far. Ava Knox led three Bluejays in double figures with 14 points.
The Pendragons will meet Wayne, which used a big second quarter to claim a 55-40 win over Auburn.
Wayne took a 29-16 lead into the halftime locker room after outscoring the Bulldogs 18-7 in the second frame.
Brooklyn Kruse scored a game-high 21 points, giving her 39 points for the tournament so far. Addy Maddox paced Auburn with 10 points.
In the consolation bracket, Winnebago’s boys rebounded after a first-round loss to claim a dominant 82-51 win over Plainview.
Winnebago raced out to a 50-19 halftime lead over the Pirates.
Duran Blackfish paced Winnebago with 19 points, while TyreseLovejoy added 16 and Dyami Berridge added 11.
Spencer Hille scored a game-high 22 for the Pirates.
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge also got back on the winning track in the boys’ consolation bracket, knocking off Pender 56-46 in overtime, despite Jake Rath’s 30 points for the Pendragons.
Alex Roth paced the Bears with 18 points, while Aiden Beckman added 10.
LCC jumped out to an early 17-4 lead after a quarter, but the Pendragons closed the gap with a 13-2 edge in the second quarter.
Once the game reached overtime, the Bears took over, outscoring Pender 13-3 in the extra frame.
In the girls’ consolation bracket, Makenna Noecker scored a game-high 23 points to lead Cedar Catholic past Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 59-32.
The Trojans jumped on top of the Bears in the first half, taking a 34-14 lead into the break.
Mallory Eriksen led LCC with 16 points.
Plainview won the other girls’ consolation bracket game, topping Winnebago 52-39.
Abigail Kromarek led three Pirates in double digits with 14 points.
Charlize Frechman paced Winnebago with 11 points.
The Great Northeast Nebraska Shootout wraps up Friday in Wayne.
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge and Winnebago will meet in the girls’ seventh-place game, while Pender and Plainview will square off in the boys’ seventh-place game.
Playing for fifth place on the girls’ side will be Cedar Catholic and Plainview, while Laurel-Concord-Coleridge and Winnebago will face off in the boys’ fifth-place game.
Auburn and Pierce will clash in the girls’ third-place game, while Wayne and Cedar Catholic will play for third in the boys’ bracket.
The girls’ championship will feature Wayne and Pender, while Pierce and Auburn will battle for the boys’ title.