NEBRASKA CITY, NE – Winner goes to Districts, loser ends their season. Those were the stakes on the line Thursday night in Lourdes Central Catholic High School as the hosting Knights faced off against the red-hot Johnson-Brock Eagles.

Johnson-Brock quickly got the upper hand after tip, employing a shut-down 2-3 zone defense and attacking the rim and from beyond the arc with well execute and designed plays. Momentum swung in the Eagle’s favor and kept that way, staving off any attempt from the Knights to gain a lead. Despite LCC never being more than eight points from the lead, at halftime, the score was 21-17, Johnson-Brock.

Either Knights Head Coach Trevor Krenk said something that lit a fire, or something snapped inside the Knight’s mentality, but the second half started off with a stalwart defensive effort by Lourdes Central Catholic. Rallying the crowd behind them, the Knights held the Eagles methodical offense to a stall for the opening minute. Momentum had shifted, but the lead would not. Back and forth we went, with the Eagles coming dangerously close to surrendering the lead but keeping ahead.

Knights Junior Beau Lee had flipped a switch. Something inside had snapped, and he became a monster on both sides of the court. Forcing turnovers, getting in his man’s face and head, and driving to the rim causing fouls. At the end of the third, Lee bull-rushed the net as time was expiring and drew contact, but with no foul called the score remained 33-27 and in favor of the Eagles.

LCC fans, who showed up in favorable numbers against the Eagles faithful who always travel in a numerous flock, were riled up. The arena, which houses seats for under 1500, got as loud as 90 dB, or the equivalent of putting a hairdryer to your ear.

In the fourth quarter, Lourdes threw up a defensive stand, allowing only 3 points from the Eagles, and tied things up 36 a piece with over a minute to go. Junior Caleb Fossenbarger appeared as if he wanted to stall the clock and try at one last shot with barely any time to go. Instead, after passing it to Sophomore Nic Parriott, Nic drove towards the basket with an open lane and missed a layup which was rebounded firmly by Junior Knight Blake Miller.

After a timeout with 11 seconds, Lourdes called time again with 7 seconds to devise up a plan against the lineup they saw. Lourdes in-bounded the pass and could not find anything outside the perimeter. Then, after giving it to Beau Lee, Lee drove into the paint, threw up a layup, drew contact, and this time a foul too. 0.2 seconds left.

Lee would sink his first shot, to a thunderous crowd’s cheer, and purposefully miss his second and the game was over after a heave of the ball which landed in the Knight’s student section. A 37-36 final, and the Knights would go on to play for a District Championship and a spot at State.

Caleb Fossenbarger had 16 points and six rebounds on the night. LCC’s Blake Miller ended up with 10 points, three boards, and three steals. Beau Lee ended his night to remember with eight points and five rebounds. Johnson Brock ends their season with a 16-10 record, while Lourdes Central Catholic will travel to Aurora to face off against #6 seed Ansley/Litchfield on Monday at 7 PM. To keep up to date on their game and more teams around River Country, keep it refreshed here with News Channel Nebraska.