High Plains uses 17-point run to beat HSF, 64-61 for D1 championship
LINCOLN — For every run that High Plains made at Humphrey St. Francis in the Class D1 state finals on Saturday morning, the Flyers had an answer.
Until the fourth quarter. And, then the Storm poured it on.
HPC (26-2) used a 17-0 run in the final frame that turned a 55-45 deficit into a 62-55 lead in the closing minutes before winning the state championship 64-61 on Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
“It feels pretty good,” High Plains coach Cameron Hudson said after the whirlwind of obligations that comes with the title. “It was blur, but it was so much fun. Especially that fourth quarter.”
Oh, yes, the fourth quarter. They’ll talk about that forever.
When Kyle Wemhoff scored on a reverse layup for HSF at the 6:46 mark, the Storm looked dead to rights, down 55-45. But, they found another gear, spurned by defense.
Like any championship game should, the Storm needed everybody for the run. Five players scored and it was kicked off by a Josh Demers 3-point shot (pictured left) in the right corner. Then, the Flyers countered with six turnovers and six straight misses from the field.
“Yesterday it was zone,” Hudson said. “The day before it was exclusively man-to-man. Today we had to go back to man-to-man because they were shooting us out of the zone. It was just kids playing with a lot of guts and a lot of heart.”
So here came, High Plains.
A driving bucket from Thomas Young. 55-50.
A shot in the paint from Cale Harless on an Andrew Adelson assist. 55-52.
A rebound and basket from Jabe Wurtz after Cole Klingsporn missed a free throw. 55-54.
And, then a coast-to-coast bucket from Klingsporn after Harless knocked the ball away from Cole Wemhoff. 56-55. It was the first lead of the game and St. Francis had nothing left.
“Our defense was key in the fourth quarter,” Klingsporn said. “It got us going on offense a little bit, too. We got the ball inside to Cale and things started clicking for us.”
By the time the run was over inside the final minute, it was 62-55 for High Plains after a Young 3-pointer and a pair of free throws. He led the victors with 21 points and five assists. Harless had 14 points and five rebounds, while Klingsporn added 12 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds. Demers added nine points on 3-for-3 3-point shooting.
Young, the sophomore starter among a group of four seniors, said it was a special game to be a part of after losing to Bancroft-Rosalie in last year’s championship contest. Like Saturday’s opponent, they had also defeated the Panthers in the district championship game.
“It was loose last night,” Young said, when asked if they made any mindset adjustments. “These seniors last game, you just want to come out and play hard. They taught me so much. On and off the court, you can’t say enough about these guys.”
The teams played at a level not seen in many state finals. The Storm was 23-for-39 from the field and 12-for-18 from the line, while HSF countered to finish 25-for-56. In the first half, when they staked 35-26 lead they were 14-for-28 from the field and 5-for-8 from beyond the 3-point line.
Zack Huettner led St. Francis, which finished 23-5, with 26 points. Damien Baumgart had 13 points and Chayse Wemhoff 10 points and nine rebounds for HSF.
Just one more thing on Hudson’s to-do list when the principal returns to school.
“(The banner) get’s ordered on Monday,” he said.
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