Well Saturday turned out to be an extensive sports coverage day for the state of Nebraska, with multiple hockey games, a State Wrestling Championship, BracketBuster college game and UNK basketball games. Let's go around the state for a Saturday review on Nebraska sports!
Starting on Saturday morning, the Nebraska State Wrestling Championships were held at the Qwest Center in Omaha. Millard South came into the final day the winners of the past four state titles in Class A and Omaha Skutt winners of the past 11 in Class B. Well unfortunately, my alma mater of Millard South couldn't capture a 5-peat as Grand Island ran away with the Class A title. Omaha Skutt pulled away for their 12th straight Class B title, Central City won the Class C title, and Howells took home the Class D title.
Next in the afternoon, the Nebraska Cornhuskers took on the No. 18 Kansas Jayhawks on the road and got clobbered by the Jayhawks 70-53. The loss by the Huskers is a serious blow to their NCAA At-Large considerations for the March Madness tournament. They were considered on the bubble going into their final games and a win against the ranked Jayhawks would have gone a long way in helping them getting in the tournament for the first time in over ten years.
As nighttime approached, the United States Hockey League in Nebraska took full effect when the Tri City Storm took on the Omaha Lancers in a heated rivalry game at the FirsTier Event Center right here in Kearney. The Storm came out in new jerseys designed for their annual "Pack It In Purple" event, where they auctioned off the game worn jerseys after the game. Tri City, coming into the game 7-35 on the year, took down the defending Clarke Cup Champion Lancers 4-3 in a hard-hitting, fast-paced game. The game saw great saves by Storm goalie T.J. Massie (48 on 51 shots) and the Storm come out and score three first period goals. There was also two fights for a rather docile Storm team that got the fans up on their feet. In all of the games I have worked in this season, this was by far the loudest I have heard the hometown crowd at the end of a game. In other USHL news, the Lincoln Stars were defeated by Waterloo 5-1 in Waterloo.
While the Storm game was going on, Omaha and the Qwest Center was prime location again for the ESPNU BracketBuster game between Creighton and George Mason. Both teams are on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and Creighton came in winning seven straight games and is currently tied for 1st in the Missouri Valley Conference with Northern Iowa. Creighton came out strong in the second half and took down the visiting Patriots 76-63 for their ninth straight victory and at 23-6, are serious contenders to make the March Madness tournament. The Bluejays were led by Booker Woodfox with 22 points and left the 4th largest crowd in school history still tied for the lead in the MVC. I believe, as of right now, the Bluejays should be in the NCAA Tournament, with quality wins over Dayton at home and St. Joseph's on the road.
Then, at the same time on UNK's campus, both Men's and Women's Basketball Teams were taking on Regis University in the final home game of the season for the Lopers. The first matchup of the night saw the Lady Lopers, winners of nine straight, take down the Rangers 78-74 in order to stay a half-game behind CSM for first place in the RMAC. Seniors Jade Meads and Jonni Mildenberger, who combined for 46 points and 17 rebounds, played their last home game as Lopers and it is going to be hard to contribute for their production when they graduate. Also playing her last home game was Kassi Schuppe, who has played as the starting guard for the past two seasons, proving to be a key asset to the team's success.
The night matinee had the UNK men rolling past Regis 73-61 to keep their RMAC Tournament hopes alive at 10-14 overall. UNK was led by junior Drake Beranek with 22 points and his first collegiate dunk. I bring that up because Drake was a guest on my sports talk radio show on 91.3 KLPR this past Tuesday and we started talking about dunking and I asked him if he had ever dunked in college and he responded no. It was then we talked about what would have to happen for that first dunk to occur and most of it was a joke. But now just 5 days later, he throws down his first dunk and it was quite comical and ironic.
Anyways, a busy, busy day for sports in Nebraska. One that if you are a sports junkie like I am, allows you to lay your head down at night and thank God that you're a sports fan.
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