LINCOLN — Deverell Biggs dazzled. Omaha Central dominated.
It was that easy for the senior and his fourth-ranked Eagles Thursday night. Biggs scored 25 points and Central cruised past No. 6 Lincoln High 71-44 in the opening round of the boys state tournament at the Devaney Center.
The win pushes the Eagles into Friday night’s 8:45 semifinal against No. 2 Lincoln Southeast, and one win away from their fourth state title game in five years.
Biggs was on top of his game all night, but was especially entertaining during the third quarter. He scored 14 points in the frame, including a pair of buckets in the final four seconds. Biggs slashed to the lane and threw down a one-handed dunk, then swiped the inbounds pass and scored again before the buzzer.
“He’s gone out and done things like that a number of times,” Central coach Eric Behrens said.
“He just rises to the occasion.”
He also dished out five assists despite an injured groin that had him hobbling at times in the second half.
“You can’t let anything hold you back,” he said. “It’s state.”
After the Links grabbed a 10-8 lead on a Tobin Reinwald bucket with 2½ minutes left in the first quarter, Central took control.
The Eagles scored the final 10 points of the quarter, then the first six of the second quarter. The 16-0 spurt was part of a 23-4 run that gave them a 17-point cushion late in the first half.
“We speed the game up,” Biggs said. “That’s our game. I think we did a pretty good job of that.”
Freshman center Akoy Agau had 12 of his 15 points in the first half.
“We just couldn’t get stops,” Links coach Dan Noble said. “Biggs was phenomenal.”
Reinwald led Lincoln High with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Omaha Central (21-4).....................18 13 20 20—71
Lincoln High (16-6)......................10 6 16 12—44
OC: Akoy Agau 15, Darian Barrientos-Jackson 2, Sean McGary 10, Jake Fuhs 2, Josh Hackett 6, Eddie Vinson 4, Deverell Biggs 25, Dominique McKinsie 5, DeShaun Roberts 2.
LH: Demarius Lott 6, Deondre White 8, John Harris 2, Tommy Johnson 3, Tobin Reinwald 12, Vince Smail 8, Dylan Flinn 5.
Contact the writer:
850-0781, nickrubek@hotmail.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
RSS Feeds