• Photo Showcase: State tournament: Thursday
• Video: Highlights from the Chadron and Wilber-Clatonia game:
* * *
LINCOLN — Chadron won and moved on.
And that, the unhappy Cardinals coach said, was about it.
Class C-1 No. 2 Chadron was less than spectacular in its 41-32 opening-round win over ninth-ranked Wilber-Clatonia on Thursday at the boys state basketball tournament at Pershing Auditorium.
“Just very disappointed with our effort today,” Chadron coach Craig Nobiling said.
Most fans expected the Cardinals to breeze their way to the finals for the second straight year, but they needed a huge fourth quarter from Minnesota recruit Elliott Eliason.
The 6-foot-11 senior produced eight of his 16 points in the final quarter, including a 6-of-7 performance from the free-throw line.
Eliason finished 7 of 8 from the field with 10 rebounds and eight blocks — five of which came in the final eight minutes.
“Quite frankly,” Nobiling said, “we didn't get the ball inside enough.”
Eliason said he couldn't explain the team's struggles, but he said the team understands that play like Thursday's efforts won't win a title.
“We just didn't play defense like we're supposed to and didn't execute,” he said. “Everybody's good at state. It is a bit of a wake-up call in that sense.”
In Friday's 9 a.m. semifinal at the Devaney Center, Chadron will take on Minden, a 46-41 winner over Falls City.
Zach Bargen added 10 points for the Cardinals, including nine in the second half.
He and Eliason combined for every point in a 10-0 run in the third quarter after Wilber-Clatonia had gotten to within one point early in the period.
Wilber-Clatonia's score with 14 seconds left in the third quarter ended a scoreless drought of more than 6½ minutes. But the Wolverines didn't get any closer than five points during the rest of the way.
Masen Needles scored a team-high 14 for Wilber-Clatonia, including three 3-pointers.
Chadron (23-2) 991112—41
Wilber-Clatonia (20-4) 105611—32
C: Alec Holmquist 3, Jon Lordino 1, Zach Bargen 10, Braden Roes 8, Taylor Hencey 3, Elliott Eliason 16.
WC: Michael Pflanz 1, Andrew Pryor 5, Hayden Schuerman 4, Tanner Zlab 2, Masen Needles 14, Sam Newmyer 4, Andrew Jeffries 2.
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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.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