Lourdes Central Catholic's Noah Vasa hopes to swat Knights to first Nebraska basketball championship

In the battle for Class D-1 postseason supremacy, Lourdes Central Catholic (Nebraska City) coach Joe Tynon is likely to have the paint on any basketball court in Nebraska protected. The return of Noah Vasa predicted that outcome. The play of the 6-foot-8-inch senior validates it.

Besides scoring a team-high 18.1 points a game, Vasa pulls down 13.5 rebounds per outing, and is rather stingy when it comes to allowing the easy points.

"Noah has been a great rim protector for us," Tynon said of Vasa, who has averaged 6.5 swats per contest in 2014-15. "Offensively Noah is a very good scorer and a great disher. He is consistently good for about 20 points, 15 rebounds and six or seven blocked shots.

"He's a pretty unselfish guy. I'd prefer he be a little more selfish at times. Down low he'll catch the ball and dish it back out for the open shot. That's not a bad thing. But I'd like for him to go ahead and take some of those shots himself."

While Tynon revels in Vasa's ability to slam the door shut on any offense with one swipe of his hand, Vasa utilizes his length and body control to swing a game's action in favor of the Knights.

Never mind that Vasa's mere presence has changed the course of many shots by Knight foes during the course of his prep career. He prefers to take over a game with his ability to deflect passes as well as shots.

"It's a momentum builder," Vasa said of his ability to block shots. "One good block can completely change a game."

Vasa's dominance on the court was never more evident than in Saturday's epic 55-43 win at Nebraska small school power Falls City Sacred Heart. In that game, Vasa scored 23 points, pulled down 20 boards and blocked six Irish shots.

He may have singlehandedly reinserted a little Knight swagger, for Tynon, just before the MaxPreps Class D1 eighth-ranked Knights (18-6) opened sub-district play this week. Before Saturday's triumph, Lourdes Central Catholic had won just three of its last six contests.

"In our past few games against Sacred Heart our shots weren't falling," Vasa said. "This win should be a boost for us. If we can get our 3-point shooting going, I believe we can be truly lethal.

"We just have to go out and play. If we don't allow shooters to shoot and we can force the drive to the middle, we should have success on defense. Offensively, we just have to go out and work the ball until we get open shots."

Should those shots start falling for Vasa and company, Lourdes Central Catholic may not get tested again until the Knights duke it out for a district championship next week.

As far as Vasa is concerned, however, he and his teammates cannot afford to look past any of their upcoming opponents, especially if Vasa hopes to pad his legacy by helping the Knights claim Lourdes Central Catholic's first boys state basketball championship next month.

"We can't overlook our sub-district," he said. "Every team out there can surprise when the playoffs begin. I really want to be a part of the team that wins our first state championship. Last year it was all about getting to the state tournament. This year it's all about taking it."

Lourdes Central Catholic is the No. 1 seed in the D1-1 sub-district tournament, which began play Monday at Southern High School. The Knights opened with a 71-40 win over Friend (9-16), which edged Sterling (10-12) in Monday's opening game.

Should the Knights slip by Diller-Odell (13-11) in the sub-district title contest Thursday, they would face the winner of the D1-2 sub-district championship game, between No. 4 Heartland (22-2) and seventh-ranked Bruning/Davenport-Shickley (21-3).

"We just have to play good smart basketball," Vasa said. "We're probably a little too far down the list to get a wild card, so we'll have to get through our sub-district and then whichever team survives that side of the district, which I believe we can do."

With a loaded Knights roster hitting the basketball court during the 2011-12 season, Vasa received little playing time as a 6-foot-3 freshman. Then as a 6-6 sophomore, he found himself on the court a bit more, and started to assert himself as a dominant force inside on defense.

Last season, Vasa, one of four Knight double-digit scorers, was good for a team-high 12-13 points a game. Vasa, who is considering either Peru State or Northwest Missouri State as his future basketball home, was the only one of the four to return in 2014-15, making the leading scorer's role a necessity for Vasa once again.

"He started perfecting his game inside," Tynon said of Vasa's early career success. "He's always been a great asset for us on defense. When he is in the game, much of the focus shifts to him, and that helps the other guys get open looks because the other team tends to pack it in."

A year ago, the Knights pushed the ball more. Vasa would grab the rebound, dish the outlet pass and the Knights would go. While the Knights do run when the opportunity presents itself this season, Tynon's roster is not as deep, so the goal is to get the ball inside to Vasa.

"Offensively, we go through him," Tynon said of Vasa, who scored 39 points in a 70-43 win over Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson in the championship game of Lourdes Central Catholic's holiday tournament earlier this season. "He doesn't have to score or even shoot the ball each time. But he has to touch the ball on every possession."