Terry Douglass, Central Nebraska Today
GRAND ISLAND — Class C-1 No. 9-rated (NebPreps) Grand Island Central Catholic overcame a 12-point second-half deficit and rallied past Kearney Catholic for a 54-50 home-court win Friday night.
Braylon Wolfe and Connor Haney scored 17 points apiece for the Crusaders (10-2). Thomas Birch had nine points and Brandon Cloud added eight for GICC.
Nash Malone and Briggs Luedke both scored 12 points for the Stars (3-6). Hunter Key finished with 10 points for Kearney Catholic, which started the third quarter on an 11-0 run to turn a 24-21 halftime deficit into a 32-24 lead on Key’s three-point play with 5:20 left in the third quarter.
Malone, who scored eight of his 12 in the third quarter, scored on a putback with 44 seconds remaining in the third quarter to put the Stars ahead 44-32.
GICC used full-court pressure to get back into the game, outscoring Kearney Catholic 17-6 in the fourth quarter. The Crusaders retook the lead 47-36 on Haney’s inside bucket with 3:22 to play.
After Malone hit two free throws to put the Stars back in front at 48-47, Wolfe drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing to put GICC ahead for good at 50-48 with 1:28 left.
Haney’s driving basket extended Central Catholic lead to 52-48 with 36 seconds to go and Cloud’s steal with 18 seconds left all but put the game away. Birch and Wolfe each made a free throw in the final 12.2 seconds for the Crusaders.
GICC 54, Kearney Catholic 50
Kearney Catholic (3-6)……….6 15 23 6—50
GICC (10-2)…………………….15 9 13 17—54
KEARNEY CATHOLIC—Nash Malone 12, Hunter Key 10, Isaac Penner 2, Turner Johnson 6, Briggs Luedke 12, Trevor Ryan 3, Draden Reidy 5.
GICC—Braylon Wolfe 17, Jack Alberts 3, Thomas Birch 9, Connor Haney 17, Brandon Cloud 8.
