Warriors bring home fourth in D2 state finals

LINCOLN — Dylan Brenner let one last shot fly from deep along the left sidelines Saturday afternoon, and when it fell short, the miracle ride of the Leyton High School boys basketball team had culminated with a fourth-place finish.

The Warriors, who earned the right to the Elite Eight in Lincoln, were nipped 57-56 by Falls City Sacred Heart in the Class D2 third-place game at Lincoln North Star High School,wrapping up a 22-3 campaign.

Though outsized once again, Gary Oltmann’s Warriors fought back on the strength of a game-high 27 points from Brenner, but they could not score again after cutting the lead to a single point with 2 minutes, 20 seconds remaining on a Brennen Cruise basket.

LHS, which trailed by eight points early, wouldn’t let go down the stretch, forcing the high-scoring Irish — who were ranked atop the D2 polls most of the season and averaging 70 points — into three turnovers while still behind by a single point.

Things seemed to be over with 2.1 seconds remaining when Brenner missed a 3-pointer out of the left corner, and Cruise fouled on the rebound.

However, FCSH was called for a five-second count on the inbounds, forcing yet another turnover. After both coaches called timeouts, LHS had to settle for inbounding the ball to Brenner, whose shot near the left hash fell short.

“We played hard, and we also played hard (Friday in a lop-sided semifinals loss to Spalding/Spalding Academy), when we ran out gas,” Oltmann said. “It would have been so easy for us to come in here and say ‘Well, we already have something in our pocket’, but we didn’t do that.”

Brenner was hot most of the contest, but senior teammate Sam Schumacher — the Warriors’ leading scorer — was shut down by the Irish defense.

Schmuacher had just three points, making one of 10 3-pointers, and had just one attempt inside the arc .

Oltmann revealed his top scorer had injured his neck during Friday’s game.

“Sam was not 100 percent, but he played hard for the condition he was in,” Otlmann said. “He had to see a chiropractor Friday night to get a vertebrae corrected.”

Schumacher credited Sacred Heart’s defense.

“I took a few shots I shouldn’t have,” Schumacher said.. “The defense was tight but Dylan had the shots and made them.”

Brenner was 11 of 19 from the floor, his final basket coming on an underhand flip while driving the left side of the lane, to cut the lead to 55-54. FCSH’s Brady Cromer and Cruise swapped baskets to account for the final score.

Leyton, which led just four times, couldn’t get the fifth and deciding advantage down the stretch. LHS, which lives and dies on the perimeter, made just 8 of 27 3-point attempts, but still managed to counter with grit and determination in the closing seconds.

“It seemed like we had the game wrapped up, and here came Leyton again,” Irish coach Doug Goltz said. “They were lights-out; we tried everything to try and stop (Brenner) but he was always managing to get a step-back 3-pointer, or get us with dribble-penetration.”

Brenner ended his junior season with 27 points, with Cruise, also a junior, bagging another double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Chris Melzer knocked down three treys and his nine points just missed twin digits.

Cromer, whose burly 6-4 frame ruled the inside early in the second half, led Sacred Heart with 17 points, Lane Barnhill adding 14.

Oltmann said his team played well against a team that was atop the polls all winter.

“The people here in the eastern part of the state have to give us some notice,” Oltmann said. “This team we played here was ranked No. 1 most of the year and was near or at the top in points per game.

“This team played with a lot of heart and desire. Yes, we ran out of steam (Friday) against Spalding, but we didn’t quit then, and we didn’t quit (Saturday).

“The reason we beat Sandhills (Thedford in the District D2-6 finals) in triple overtime was because we didn’t quit. Without that desire, we wouldn’t have even been here,” Oltmann said.

Schumacher, though disappointed in the defeat, said the current group of Warriors has come a long way.

“We’ve gotten better each year,” Schumacher said. “Two years ago, I was a sophomore and the rest of these guys were freshmen and starting. It’s been a great four years, our fans have stood behind us all the way and we proved we had the right to be down here.”

Oltmann said his team is growing.

“Yes, we’ll have to someone get people to step in for Sam, and that’s going to be difficult,” Oltmann said. “Last year, we came down here and went home with nothing, and this year we came away with fourth. Next year, we want to be better than fourth — and try to win it all.”

LHS won the Minuteman Activities Conference regular season title for the third year in a row by going unbeaten, won the MAC conference tournament, and won the District title and a state berth.

“We met our goals this year, but there is more work to do,” Oltmann said.

Ironically, Wynot defeated Spalding/Spalding Academy by the same 57-56 score (albeit in double overtime) for the D2 championship.

Other area teams finishing high included Scottsbluff falling to South Sioux City, 55-53, in the Class B championship game, and Kimball finished fourth in Class C1.

Omaha Central (A), South Sioux City (B), Wahoo (C1), Southern Valley (C2), Howells;-Dodge (D1) and Wynot (D2) were all crowned state champions Saturday.

NSAA Boys finals

Class D2

Third-place game

FCSH 57, Leyton 56

FCSH (24-5)

Dunn 2-8 0-0 6, Finck 0-3 0-0 0, Goltz 3-7 2-4 8, Barnhill 6-11 0-0 14, Cromer 7-9 3-5 17, Niemeyer 4-7 1-2 12, Scheitel 0-0 0-0 0, Feigener 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 6-11 57

LEYTON (22-3)

AWFrerichs 0-2 0-0 0, Melzer 3-4 0-0 9, Schumacher 1-11 0-0 3, Brenner 11-19 1-1 27, Cruise 4-10 3-4 11, McKay 3-3 0-0 6. Totals 22-50 4-5 56

FCSH 15 15 16 11—57

Leyton 11 18 16 11—56

3-point goals — FCSH 7-13 (Niemeyer 3-6, Barnhill 2-2, Dunn 2-3, Finck 0-1, Goltz 0-1), Leyton 8-27 (Brenner 4-10, Melzer 3-4, Schumacher 1-10, Cruise 0-1, AWFrerichs 0-1. Rebounds — FCSH 26 (Barnhill 7), Leyton 23 (Cruise 10). Turnovers — FCSH 12, Leyton 11. Team fouls — FCSH 11, Leyton 13.