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Using the experience of a sixth consecutive state tournament appearance, the Nemaha Valley boys jumped to a 12-0 lead in the first 4:30 of their opening round game at 3A State in Hutchinson.
A 17-point Raider advantage was cut to a 31-27 lead in the third quarter, but despite missing 18 free throws in the fourth quarter, NV held on to beat a pesky Wichita Independent squad 53-47.
Creighton Brinker ignited the Raider fans with an early dunk that led to the 12-0 start, and then after the Panthers started the second half with a 11-2 run, Brinker scored 6 straight points to keep the #3 seed Nemaha Valley on top.
NV was only 11 of 32 from the charity stripe including 7 of 25 in the final period, but a Wichita Independent team that had made 97 three-pointers this season went 0-15 from behind the arc and couldn’t not match up with the Raiders inside nor solve their stifling defense.
Brinker finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals to pace the Raiders while Trent Olberding scored 11 of his 12 points in the first half, including a trio of trifecta’s. Caleb Meyer added 8 before fouling out as NV improved to 23-1 and will not get a rematch against Scott City.
The two-time defending champion Beavers also improved to 23-1 earlier on Thursday with a 61-48 win against Pitt Colgan. Scott City defeated Nemaha Valley 61-47 in the 3A State championship game a year ago. This year it will be the semifinals as the #2 and #3 seeds collide at 4:45 Friday in Hutchinson live on KNZA Radio 103.9 FM and online www.mscsports.net
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