LINCOLN — In the locker room at Kearney last March, the seeds were planted for Johnson-Brock to return to the top of Class D-1.
“We got to the district final against Dundy County-Stratton. We had the lead in most of that game and then it kind of went away from us," coach and school principal Lucus Dalinghaus said. “We sat there in that locker room and talked about what it would take to get to this point. The kids bought in and, man, we had a busy summer.”
Time in the gym, tournaments, summer leagues.
“The first day of practice, we talked about hoisting the big trophy at the end of the year and hanging another banner in our gym," he said. “We believed that we could do it, but it was going to take a lot of hard work and the kids bought into it .
“This is truly what hard work will get you and I was glad to see it pay off for these boys because it just showed all their effort that they've put in led to success.”
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Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena, the Eagles and their ball-hawking defense came up with 16 steals in their 46-40 victory over defending champion North Platte St. Patrick’s.
Nick Parriott had 15 points and seven of his teammates also scored in the Eagles’ fourth win in as many title games. It was their first championship since 2019.
They led by 13 in the first half and were still ahead by 10 in the fourth before Sam Troshynski strung together three 3s to make it only a two-point game.
Which it was after the Irish’s Logan Winder scored with 1:33 left. They got the ball back with a steal by Andrew Brosius, but Sloan Pelican returned the favor by coming up with a pass intended to Brecken Erickson in the paint.
Camden Dalinghaus, one of the coach’s twins on the team, made two free throws and Parriott took a defensive rebound fullcourt for the clincher.
“After Sam had hit some threes, they matched up late and we felt like we had a pretty good matchup in there," Irish coach William O’Malley said. “The defender was able to kind of get a deflection. They made it really tough to get it to him.”
Johnson-Brock (25-4)........................12 10 9 15—46
North Platte St. Patrick’s (25-3)..........6 9 10 15—40
JB: Nick Parriott 5-9 2-2 15, Lleyton Behrends 0-1 1-2 1, Sloan Pelican 1-4 4-8 7, Camden Dalinghaus 1-8 6-6 8, Casen Dalinghaus 1-4 2-2 5, Lane Buchmeier 3-3 0-0 6, Brody Koehler 1-5 0-0 3, Jalen Behrends 0-1 1-2 1, Chase VanWinkle 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-36 16-23 46.
NPSP: William Moats 0-5 3-43, Brecken Erickson 3-8 4-9 10, Andrew Brosius 1-8 0-0 3, Zarek Branch 2-6 0-3 4, Sam Troshynski 5-12 0-0 14, Porter Connick 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Winder 3-6 0-0 6, Seth Engler 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas Gale 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-45 5-15 40.
3-point goals: JB 6-17 (Parriott 3-5, Pelican 1-3, Cam Dalinghaus 0-2, Cas Dalinghaus 1-4, Koehler 1-3), NPSP 5-15 (Moats 0-1, Brosius 1-8, Troshynski 4-6). Total fouls: JB 17, NPSP 19. Fouled out: none. Turnovers: JB 16, NPSP 19. Rebounds: JB 25 (Cas Dalinghaus 6), NPSP 38 (Moats 11). Field-goal percentage: JB .333, NPSP .311. Free-throw percentage: JB .696, NPSP .438.
Derek Rollins puts the Mustangs ahead by two over Gretna in the Class A boys state semifinals
Gretna couldn't find a way to find a basket in the final seconds to tie the game in the Dragons' semifinal loss to Millard North
Bellevue West's Doug Woodard defeats Omaha Westside on way to fourth straight title match
Omaha Skutt blocks shot to secure semifinal win over Crete
Auburn punches ticket to fifth-straight state title game
Here's the Nebraska high school boys basketball bracket after the semifinals in Lincoln!
Photos: 2023 Nebraska boys basketball state tournament, Friday
Bellevue West's Isaiah Wraggs-McMorrris shoots a basket in front of Omaha Westside's Caleb Mitchell, left, and Rickey Loftin, center, during a semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Gretna's Alex Wilcoxson watches from the floor as his last-second shot fails to go in, giving Millard North a victory during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball semifinals on Friday.
Bellevue West's Isaiah Wraggs-McMorrris shoots over Omaha Westside's Caleb Mitchell during a semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Bellevue West's Jacob Ajang fouls Omaha Westside's Kevin Stubblefield during a semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Millard North's Neal Mosser looks to pass the ball away from Gretna's Alec Wilkins during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball semifinals on Friday.
Gretna's Alex Wilcoxson attempts a three-point basket in front of Millard North's Derek Rollins during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball semifinals on Friday.
Millard North's Derek Rollins tries to shoot over Gretna's Jeffrey Rozelle during a semifinal class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Bellevue West's Isaiah Wraggs-McMorrris, center, runs away with a loose ball in front of Omaha Westside's Caleb Mitchell, left, and Kevin Brown during a semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Bellevue West's Eldon Turner shoots in front of Omaha Westside's Caleb Mitchell during a semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Bellevue West's J'Dyn Bullion tries to get around Omaha Westside's Malik Crawford during a semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Bellevue West's Jaxon Stueve, left, and Omaha Westside's Kevin Stubblefield fight for a rebound during a semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Bellevue West's Jacob Ajang fouls Omaha Westside's Kevin Stubblefield during a semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Bellevue West's Eldon Turner attempts a three-point basket in front of Omaha Westside's Tate Odvody during a semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Bellevue West's Jaden Jackson goes up for a basket against Omaha Westside during a semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Millard North's Jacob Martin looks to pass the ball away from Gretna's Tyler Smolinski, left, and Landon Pokorski during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball semifinals on Friday.
Gretna's Landon Pokorski shoots a basket against Millard North during the semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Gretna's Landon Pokorski goes up for a basket against Millard North's Camden Monie during the semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Gretna's Landon Pokorski goes up for a basket against Millard North's Camden Monie during the semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Gretna's Landon Pokorski takes a shot as the shot clock winds down in front of Millard North's Camden Monie during the semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Millard North's Skylen Williams attempts a three-point basket in front of Gretna's Alex Wilcoxson during the semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Millard North's Derek Rollins, left, grabs a rebound in front of Gretna's Landon Pokorski during the semifinals class A Nebraska state boys basketball game on Friday.
Millard North celebrates their win over Gretna during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball semifinals on Friday.
The Millard North bench celebrates a second-half three-point basket against Gretna during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball semifinals on Friday.
Photos: 2023 Nebraska boys basketball state tournament, Saturday
Bellevue West celebrates their win over Millard North during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Omaha Skutt's Justin Ferrin scores two points after a steal with less than a minute left against Platteview during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Bellevue West's Josiah Dotzler goes up for a shot against Millard North during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Bellevue West's Jaxon Stueve, left, and Millard North's Elijah Gaeth react differently to a call during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Bellevue West's Steven Poulicek, left, and Millard North's Elijah Gaeth both reach for a rebound during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Bellevue West's Jaden Jackson shoots in front of Millard North's Derek Rollins during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Millard North's Jacob Martin puts on his shoe after losing in the first half against Bellevue West during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Bellevue West's Isaiah Wraggs-McMorrris tries to shoot in front of Millard North's Neal Mosser during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Platteview's Connor Millikan, right, and Omaha Skutt's Kyle Cannon watch Millikann's three-point basket going in during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Ashland/Greenwood's Luke Clark, No. 13, and Isaac Carson, No. 20, celebrate their win over Auburn during the class C1 Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Omaha Skutt's Jack Healey, left, and Platteview's Reiman Zebert fight for a rebound during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Omaha Skutt's Jacob Brack, left, and Platteview's Connor Millikan fight for a loose ball during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Platteview's Trey Moseman celebrates a three-point basket against Omaha Skutt during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Platteview's Connor Millikan, left, gets fouled by Omaha Skutt's Wyatt Archer while going for a loose ball during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Platteview's Connor Millikan, left, gets fouled by Omaha Skutt's Wyatt Archer while going for a loose ball during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Platteview's Connor Millikan, left, gets fouled by Omaha Skutt's Wyatt Archer while going for a loose ball during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Platteview's Connor Millikan shoots a free throw against Omaha Skutt during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Platteview's Reiman Zebert reaches for a loose ball against Omaha Skutt during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Platteview's Reiman Zebert pulls down a rebound against Omaha Skutt during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
From left: Omaha Skutt's Kyle Cannon, Wyatt Archer, and Justin Ferrin celebrate their win over Platteview during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Omaha Skutt celebrates their win over Platteview during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Platteview's Connor Millikan reacts to fouling out against Omaha Skutt during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Platteview's Ezra Stewart tries to block Omaha Skutt's Justin Ferrin shot during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Omaha Skutt's Justin Ferrin tries to dribble past Platteview's Trey Moseman during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Platteview fans try to distract Omaha Skutt's Justin Ferrin as he makes a free throw during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Omaha Skutt's Kyle Cannon looks to get around Platteview's Tarin Riley, left, and Alex Draper, center, during the class B Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Freeman's Hayden Jennings, facing, hugs his teammate Magnus Skaarnes during the closing seconds of their victory over Amherst in the class C-2 Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Amherst's Carter Riessland, facing, hugs Nolan Eloe after losing to Freeman during the class C-2 Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Bellevue West's Steven Poulicek stretches to try and keep the ball from going out of bounds against Millard North during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Bellevue West's Steven Poulicek celebrates a three-point basket against Millard North during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Bellevue West's Jaxon Stueve scores two points against Millard North during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Bellevue West's Jaxon Stueve, facing, hugs Josiah Dotzler in the closing seconds of their victory over Millard North during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Bellevue West celebrates their win over Millard North during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Bellevue West's Josiah Dotzler takes off with the ball as Millard North's Camden Monie reaches for it during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Wynot's Colin Wieseler, left, and Kasen Koch defend Lincoln Parkview's Maurice Reide during the class D-2 Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Bellevue West's Josiah Dotzler passes the ball from his back in the second half against Millard North during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Millard North's Neal Mosser, left, shoots in front of Bellevue West's Josiah Dotzler during the class A Nebraska state boys basketball championship game on Saturday.
Stu Pospisil
Reporter - High school sports
Stu is The World-Herald's lead writer for high school sports and for golf. Follow him on Twitter @stuOWH. Email stu.pospisil@owh.com
