Slow start, frigid shooting doom Irish in semifinals
Falls City Sacred Heart’s quest to add a state basketball championship next to their state football championship from last fall ended Friday night, as Bancroft-Rosalie jumped on the Irish early and cruised to a 55-44 in a Class D-2 semifinal at the Devaney Center.
The second-seeded Irish trailed 14-4 at the end of the first and 27-7 at halftime as the No. 3 Panthers connected on four first-half three-pointers.
Nick Sjuts led a trio of Panthers in double-figures with 15 points.
The Irish, now 24-5, will play in their second-straight third-place consolation game against Spalding/Spalding Academy, who lost to High Plains in the other semifinal.
FCSH and Spalding/SA tip-off at 2 p.m. at Lincoln Southeast.
Scoring
FCSH – Niemeyer 8, Dunn 8, Malone 8, Kean 3, Goltz 15, Fiegener 2.
B-R – Sjuts 15, Appleton 12, Zitek 6, Tietz 8, Peters 14.