Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Cooper Hicks of Potter-Dix, left, drives around a Creek Valley defender on his way to the basket in Saturday night's MAC championship. The Storm used a third quarter run to top the Coyotes, 44-36.
Creek Valley's Brett Godfrey, left, battles Sam Bogert of Potter Dix at the basket during Saturday's MAC championship game.
A key third quarter run proved to be the difference for Creek Valley on Saturday night to claim the Minuteman Activities Conference Tournament championship against Potter-Dix.
The Storm used a 15-2 third quarter run, erasing a 21-18 halftime deficit, to defeat the Coyotes 44-36 in the MAC title game.
Brett Godfrey started the run with a layup, while the Storm took the lead on a Colin Brott layup and ensuing foul shot. The Coyotes' Noah Nelson hit a layup with 5:25 left in the quarter to tie the game at 23-all.
It was all Storm after that. Godfrey's 3-pointer at the 4:32 mark of the quarter put Creek Valley up 26-23 and started a run of 10 consecutive points. The Storm got back-to-back buckets and a free throw from Michael Rahe, and then a putback layup from Godfrey made it a 33-23 lead with 2:07 left in the quarter.
The Coyotes climbed back into the game with a trey and fast break bucket from Cole Christensen to cut the deficit to 33-30, but the Storm held the lead for the rest of the game.
Potter-Dix further cut into things in the fourth quarter, making it a 38-36 game on Coby Hicks' layup with 5:25 left in the game. Creek Valley's Michael Smith responded with a jumper as the Storm closed the game on a 6-0 run.
Godfrey led the Storm (9-6) offensively with 17 points, while Rahe added 9. Godfrey and Keith Everitt led the team with 7 rebounds each.
Christensen had a team-high 13 points for the Coyotes (6-7), while Hicks chipped in with 8 points. Christensen led the team with 7 rebounds, while Kelsey Rozelle added 6.
The teams battled back and forth early in the game with three ties and several lead changes. Rozelle's jumper at the buzzer put the Coyotes up 12-11 heading to the second quarter.
The Coyotes rolled out a 7-0 run to start the second quarter for a 19-11 lead, before the Storm responded with a 7-0 run their own to pull within 19-18. Hicks' jumper with one tick on the clock sent Potter-Dix to the locker room with a 21-18 halftime lead.
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