By Scott Hansen
MaxPreps.com
On the day of the Nebraska Coaches Association All-State boys basketball game, Iowa State recruit Wes Eikmeier became ill and could only watch in street clothes. Despite missing Eikmeier, it was the Red team that survived with a 97-93 victory over the Blue team at Lincoln North Star.
Indiana State signing Koang Doluony of Omaha Bryan had a huge game, scoring 21 points and ripping down 10 rebounds for the Red.
“I felt good from the beginning of the game,” Doluony told the Lincoln Journal-Star. “The dunk I got in the first quarter kind of got our team going.”
Bellevue East guard James Futch was pivotal in the victory. The point guard that spearheaded the Chieftains to the Class A final against the odds last March at the state tournament propelled his team with three consecutive three-point baskets to start the fourth period.
Creighton recruit Antoine Young tied Dolouny for team-high honors with 21 points to pace the Red squad.
Jesse Carr of Ainsworth, headed to Colorado State, held up his end of the bargain for the Blue squad. Carr, who averaged nearly a triple-double per game in Class C1, scored 24 points. Waverly’s Andrew Palmer went 6-for-10 from behind the arc to score 18 points. Young’s future college teammate Josh Jones of Omaha Central scored 13 points.
The Red team trailed early on in the second half before storming back with a 21-2 run. Dolouny nailed a triple with 5:47 left in the final period gave that his team the lead for good.
Red.........................29 25 12 31—-97
Blue.......................25 15 26 27—-93
Blue: Josh Riser (Lincoln High) 2-6 0-0 4, Kyle Obermeier (North Platte) 0-2 0-0 0, Sy Hueser (Papillion-LV South) 1-5 0-0 3, Andrew Palmer (Waverly) 6-10 0-0 18, Josh Jones (Omaha Central) 5-14 2-3 13, Jesse Carr (Ainsworth) 8-18 4-4 24, Kendal Bender (Humphrey SF) 2-3 0-0 4, John Levorson (Crete) 4-6 1-2 10, Mitch Liberty (Falls City) 2-7 0-0 4, Garth Hamilton (Lincoln East) 0-6 0-2 0, Josh Lynch (Elkhorn) 4-7 1-2 9, Jake Reinders (Omaha Skutt) 2-4 0-0 4.
Red: Nick Schleich (Lincoln SE) 3-6 0-0 6, James Futch (Bellevue East) 3-4 4-4 13, Jeremy Wallace (Omaha Bryan) 2-3 2-2 7, Antoine Young (Bellevue West) 6-19 8-10 21, Shavontae Samuels (St. Edward) 1-9 2-4 4, Jory Crouch (Grand Island) 1-4 0-0 2, Jens Scholl (Deshler) 1-3 0-0 3, Mike Fox (Beatrice) 4-4 0-2 8, Zach Rosenboom (Oakland-Craig) 2-6 0-0 4, Porter Birtell (Norfolk Lutheran) 3-4 1-2 7, Koang Doluony (Omaha Bryan)
Girls: Blue Smacks Red, 91-61
The Blue team exploded to a 22-9 lead in the first quarter of the NCA All-State girls’ basketball game at Lincoln North Star and never looked back in a 91-61 victory over the Red team.
Players from the smaller schools stood up to be noticed for the Blue team. Debi Johnson of Perkins County and Cheryl Braithwait of Arapahoe both scored 12 points for the Blue team to lead a balanced attack.
Brittany Gunn of Omaha Burke led the Red squad with 16 points. Lincoln Southeast’s Katie Birkel and Fairbury’s Kilee Edson were unusually quiet, combining for seven points. Overton’s Eva Benson, the first girl in school-history to accept a Division I scholarship, scored 12 points for the Red.
"Our defense played well. We felt we needed to slow down their guards and Nicole Brungardt did a really good job on Katie Birkel, not letting her really get started," Blue team head coach Rick Chramosta of Minden told the Omaha World-Herald. "Amber Peterson and Johnson are very good point guards and they were able to distribute well."
Blue.........................22 22 22 25—91
Red......................... 9 23 14 15—61
Blue: Amber Peterson (Elkhorn) 3-4 0-0 7, Cheryl Braithwait (Arapahoe) 3-3 5-6 12, Debi Johnson (Perkins County) 5-13 0-0 12, Autumn Boyer (South Sioux City) 4-10 0-0 8, Nicole Brungardt (Norfolk Catholic) 3-9 0-0 6, LeeAnn Jameson (Minden) 5-7 0-0 11, Angela Koca (Lincoln Lutheran) 2-4 3-4 7, Megan Salcedo (Omaha Marian) 2-4 2-2 6, Kali Schnacker (Humboldt-TRS) 3-7 1-2 7, Heather Pohl (Millard West) 4-15 2-2 10, Alicia Statler (Grand Island CC) 2-8 1-5 5.
Red: Brittany Gunn (Omaha Burke) 5-9 3-3 16, Kilee Edson (Fairbury) 1-3 0-0 2, Katie Birkel (Lincoln SE) 2-11 1-6 5, Alexa Phipps (Lincoln High) 0-2 0-0 0, Tessa Kreutzer (Holdrege) 2-8 2-3 7, Jordan Searcey (Lincoln Pius X) 0-5 1-2 1, Kristine Ortmeier (West Point CC) 0-1 1-2 1, Mia Gilreath (Omaha Burke) 2-8 2-2 6, Ashley Arp (Kearney) 0-1 0-2 0, Megan Allison (Cross County) 1-7 0-1 3, Eva Benson (Overton) 5-9 2-2 12, Morgan Wilken (Crofton) 3-4 2-2 8.
Scott Hansen: maxprepsok@sbcglobal.net