LINCOLN – After playing in the morning session the past two days, the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Bears looked to cap off their season a top Class D1 in their first-ever championship game.
From the Pinnacle Bank Arena, #4 LCC took on #6 Southern Valley Saturday morning. The Eagles were competing in their second championship game (C2/2013 champs) and sixth overall state tourney in program history.
Saturday morning’s game featured a first in championship history with the D1 finals being decided by a 40-point mercy rule which was implemented in the 2013-14 season. Just like the quarterfinals and semifinals, the fourth-seeded LCC Bears dominated early and it was no different at the PBA. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge scored four seconds into the game and didn’t look back defeating #6 Southern Valley, 76-31.
LCC won their eighth straight to finish as D1 champs with a record of 26-5 while the Eagles fell to 21-6.
The Bears jumped ahead 26-8 in the opening quarter before extending their lead with a 22-3 second quarter. LCC led 48-11 at the break. Southern Valley came out strong in the third holding a 16-15 edge in scoring before Laurel-Concord-Coleridge closed out the game with a 13-4 fourth. Final again saw LCC win 76-31.
Noah Schutte recorded a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds (9-16 FG/7-11 FT) while Evan Haisch made 10 triples on the weekend after scoring another 18 points (6-9 FG/4-6 3PT/2-2 FT). Ty Erwin finished with 15 points (5-8 FG/3-3 3PT/2-3 FT) while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out three assists.
Other LCC leaders were Austin Hall who finished with seven points and six rebounds, Cael Hartung added six points and five boards, Wilton Roberts tallied three points and Landon Boysen scored the final two points. Evan Schmitt added a team-high four assists.
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge shot 27-48 from the field (56.3%), 8-11 from the three-point line (66.7%) and 14-21 from the foul line (66.7%).
Leaders for Southern Valley were Carter Bose with 13 points (6-10 FG/1-1 FT) and Clayton Berry added nine points and four rebounds (3-10 FG/3-6 FT).
The Eagles finished 12-47 on the floor (25.5%); 1-14 from behind the arc (7.1%) and 6-12 at the charity stripe (50%).
Finals: Pinnacle Bank Arena
Class C1 (11 a.m.): #2 Auburn defeated #4 Ogallala, 58-34
Class B (1 p.m.): #1 Omaha Skutt Catholic defeated #6 Omaha Roncalli Catholic, 59-31
Class D2 (4:30 p.m.): #2 Falls City Sacred Heart defeated #1 Humphrey St. Francis, 45-33
Class A (6:30 p.m.): #1 Bellevue West defeated #2 Millard North, 64-62
Class C2 (8:30 p.m.): #2 BRLD defeated #1 Grand Island Central Catholic, 61-47
Consolation round: Lincoln Northeast HS
Class D2 (9 a.m.): #6 Parkview Christian defeated #4 Mullen, 62-43
Class D1 (11 a.m.): #2 Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family defeated #1 North Platte St. Patrick’s, 50-36
Class C2 (1 p.m.): #4 Yutan defeated #3 Sutton, 39-30
Class C1 (3 p.m.): #1 Adams Central defeated #3 Lincoln Christian, 59-47