• Photo Showcase: State tournament: Thursday

• Video: Highlights from the Norfolk-Grand Island game:



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LINCOLN — They say it's tough to beat a team three times during the season.

Not so with top-ranked Norfolk, which drilled Grand Island for the third time Thursday at the boys state basketball tournament.

The Panthers boosted their record to 21-2 with a 69-44 win over the unranked Islanders in a first-round Class A game at the Devaney Center. Norfolk advances to a semifinal game Friday at 7 p.m.

Coach Ben Ries' squad began the season with an 85-50 win over Grand Island, and the Panthers posted a 59-34 victory later in the season.

It didn't go much better Thursday for the Islanders, who finish 9-14.

"Having beaten them twice before, there was some level of confidence,'' Ries said. "But we know that anything can happen at state.''

Norfolk, which averages 68.5 points per game, got off to a slow start and led just 10-8 after the first quarter. But the Panthers got rolling in the second quarter, opening up a 32-16 halftime lead.

"We got some looks in that first quarter but the shots weren't falling for us,'' Ries said. "We loosened up in the second quarter and were able to extend their defense.''

Senior guard Brady Lollman scored 12 of his game-high 17 points in the first half to help Norfolk take control, and the Panthers continued to pour it on in the third quarter. Sophomore guard Jalen Bradley scored nine of his 12 points in the period as Grand Island fell behind by 26 entering the fourth quarter.

Norfolk was able to rest its starters for most of that final quarter as the Panthers cruised home. The victory allowed Norfolk to reach the second round for the first time in its past seven tournament trips, a streak dating to 1993.

"I thought we weren't patient enough on offense early in the game, and that hurt us,'' Grand Island coach Jeff Hofeldt said. "And we had several turnovers that hurt us.''

The Islanders, who average 46.5 points per game, turned it over 18 times. The Panthers had just 10 turnovers.

Jonah Bradley added 12 points for Norfolk and Tanner Lancaster had 10. Nathan Marsh finished with eight points and hauled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

Junior guard Adam Werner paced the Islanders with 10 points.

Grand Island (9-14).......................8 8 16 12 — 44
Norfolk (21-2)...10 22 26 11 — 69
• GI: Sam Foltz 3, Travis Scheuler 4, Max Ayoub 7, Pete Martin 3, Adam Werner 10, Cory Foland 2, Aaron Ogden 5, Ryker Fyfe 4, Nick Wenz 6.
• N: Jalen Bradley 12, Jeremy Vogel 2, Jonah Bradley 12, Garrett Johnson 5, Nathan Marsh 8, Brady Lollman 17, Tanner Lancaster 10, Jarvis Green Smoot 2, Alex Starkel 1.

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