LINCOLN, NEBRASKA (KCAU) – The Nebraska Boys Basketball State Tournament finished off quarterfinal play Thursday in Lincoln, where top-seeded Wynot advanced into the Class D-2 semifinals along with 4-seed Cedar Catholic in Class C-2, while Norfolk Catholic’s season comes to a close in C-2.

It was third straight trip to State for Wynot who aimed for their first semis appearance in 6 years, and the Blue Devils control the game against eight-seed Paxton from first tip at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Heading into halftime with a 6 point lead, Wynot continued the momentum into the second half, staving off a late Paxton run in the fourth quarter towards a 57-47 win. The Blue Devils will face five-seed Sumner-Eddyville-Miller in tomorrow’s D-2 semifinal at 6:00pm.

Over in the C-2 quarterfinals at the Bob Devaney Center Cedar Catholic also entered its third straight trip to Lincoln, facing five-seed and State first-timer Elkhorn Valley. The Trojans fell in the quarterfinals last year but made sure it wasn’t a feeling they’d experience this time around, using a huge first half to go up 31-16 at the break. Similar to Wynot, the Trojans would also hold off a late Falcon run to advance 59-50 into tomorrow’s C-2 semifinals with top-seeded Freeman at 1:30pm.

‘Definitely a lot of relief, last year we came down here and fell a little bit short in the first round so it’s great to get the first win, you know just got to come ready tomorrow we’ll definitely hit the film hard tonight and make sure we’re ready to come tomorrow,” Cedar Catholic senior Jaxon Bernecker said.

Our final Siouxland contender in Norfolk Catholic hit the C-2 quarterfinal court following the Trojans’ victory, locking horns with two-seed Amherst. A back-and-forth battle throughout, the game would stay tied at 47-47 at the end of regulation.

Though the Knights stuck with the Broncos for four quarters, their strength would run out in OT, suffering a 10-2 run to bring their title run to a close 57-49.

“We’re not satisfied, that’s winnable game against a very good team cause we’re a very good team,” Norfolk Catholic head coach Kevin Manzer said. “Anytime you lose against somebody who if a situation to win you’re obviously upset and so our underclass man got to decide what they do with that.”

The Knights end a terrific season at 18-8. A special group who’s helped rebuild the program standard.