State Tournament: Standouts From Championship Saturday in Lincoln

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #999999;">Photo Credit: Connor Happer // @ConnorHapper</span></p> <p>Lincoln- The NSAA Nebraska High School Boys State Basketball Tournament came to a conclusion on Saturday as 6 state champions were crowned from Class A- Class D2. These games were likely some of the final live sporting events that we’ll see for quite some time, but even with the sparse crowds, there was still some top-notch basketball being played not just on Saturday but throughout the entirety of the state tournament. Here some performances that stood out from championship Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. </p> <p><strong>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="890467" first="Lucas" last="Vogt"]</strong> (BRLD)- 16 points (6-8 FG), 1-1 3pt, 3-4 FT, 9 assists, 4 rebounds. </p> <p>The state’s longest active winning streak resides in Bancroft, and the star player of their basketball team is 5’11 junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="890467" first="Lucas" last="Vogt"]. Vogt is a super entertaining player to watch, and he did a little bit of everything in helping BRLD claim their second straight title in Class C2. Vogt is quick off the bounce and loves cutting to the rim, while also having great vision to set his teammates up with assists. He is one of the more intriguing prospects in the state’s 2021 class, and his high basketball IQ coupled with a solid all-around skill set makes him a very fun player to keep an eye on. </p> <p><strong>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="890468" first="Frankie" last="Fidler"] </strong>(Bellevue West)- 16 points (5-14 FG) 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 5-6 FT</p> <p>The younger Fidler brother was arguably the most valuable player all weekend for Bellevue West and on the biggest stage of the season the 6’6 junior kept on playing top-notch basketball. It was his 2 free throws with under a minute to play that gave the Thunderbirds the lead for good over Millard North by what would end up being the final score of 64-62. Fidler’s combination of length and quickness adds to the interest that will surround him this summer and next high school season. </p> <p><strong>2023 Josiah Dotzler </strong>(Bellevue West)- 8 points (2-4 FG), 2-4 3pt, 2-2 FT, 2 rebounds, 1 steal</p> <p>The freshman guard may have only logged 10 minutes of playing time in the Class A state title game, but he for sure made every second count, especially in crunch time. With his team down 14 with just under 4 minutes to play in the game, Dotzler checked in, made 2 free throws, and hit back to back corner 3’s right in front of the Bellevue West bench to cut the deficit to 6. His teammates showed a lot of faith in him late in the biggest game of the year and Dotzler didn’t hesitate, making the most of his moment and sparking a comeback that will be talked about in Bellevue for quite some time.</p> <p><strong>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="890465" first="Cam" last="Binder"] </strong>(Auburn)- 18 points (3-8 FG), 12-12 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 assists</p> <p>Binder is known as one of the best three-point shooters in the state of Nebraska, but on this championship, Saturday he did not make a single 3 pointer and his Auburn Bulldogs were still able to cruise to their second straight Class C1 state title defeating Ogallala 58-34. Binder couldn’t find a rhythm from the field, but finished a perfect 12-12 from the foul line including some crunch time makes that helped seal the deal for the Bulldogs down the stretch. </p> <p><strong>2021 Luke Skar </strong>(Omaha Skutt Catholic)- 21 points (9-9 FG), 3-5 FT, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks</p> <p>Skutt was the best team in Class B all season long and they closed out the season with a perfect 29-0 record and a Class B state championship on Saturday afternoon defeating Omaha Roncali 59-31. Junior center Luke Skar was a force to be reckoned with inside finishing with a game-high 21 points while being perfect from the field. Skar entered the tournament shooting close to 80% from the field on the season and kept up the good work on the big stage Saturday. </p> <p><strong>2020 [player_tooltip player_id="892645" first="Noah" last="Schutte"] </strong>(Laurel-Concord-Coleridge)- 25 points (9-16 FG), 7-11 FT, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="892645" first="Noah" last="Schutte"] has one of the best career stat sheets in Nebraska high school basketball history, though many casual observers won’t even recognize his name because he plays in the second smallest classification in the state. The 6’4 senior guard led his Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Bears to a Class D1 state title on Saturday while wrapping up his phenomenal high school career. With his 25 points and 10 rebounds, this game was Schutte’s 71st career double-double. Schutte scored over 2,000 points in his career as well. </p>