Upsets in Class A District Finals

<p><em>Four of the seven district finals matchups were won by the lower-seeded team on Monday night. The Westside Warriors suffered a one-point loss to Millard West, as did Papillion La Vista who were beaten by Millard South. Lincoln East won a close one against Pius X and Papillion La Vista South held on to win against Omaha Central.</em></p> <p><strong>Millard West vs. Westside</strong></p> <p>The Warriors drew a tough matchup in the first round. <strong>James Conway</strong>’s paint defense and rebounding, and [player_tooltip player_id="958185" first="Dom" last="Humm"]’s steady presence at the point guard are the anchors for this team. Dom had success getting to the rim for a bucket or foul. He managed this despite being guarded by [player_tooltip player_id="890571" first="Chandler" last="Meeks"] for a large portion of the game. Westside received great shooting performances from [player_tooltip player_id="890584" first="Payson" last="Gillespie"] (18 points) and [player_tooltip player_id="890572" first="Reggie" last="Thomas"] (23), and we saw some great clutch-time minutes at point guard by the freshman [player_tooltip player_id="1013234" first="Caleb" last="Benning"]. These teams seemingly traded bucket for bucket and stop for stop, neither team seizing control at any point in the game, until the final buzzer sounded and Millard West found themselves ahead by a point. Millard West will face Pius X in the first round of the State Tournament.</p> <p><strong>Millard South vs. Papillion La Vista</strong></p> <p>It was a total team effort which propelled Millard South to a victory over the Monarchs. Seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958196" first="Blake" last="Stenger"] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958190" first="Michael" last="Harding"]</strong> were able to penetrate the lane and create shots for others. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1017540" first="Lance" last="Rucker"]</strong> was the main beneficiary of their advantage creation, who scored a team-high 10 points largely from dump-off passes produced by those two. The ending in this one was terrific. The Monarchs were down three with :31 seconds left, when <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1035619" first="Aidan" last="Graham"]</strong> came to the rescue with a four point play. Moments later, the game ended in excruciating fashion. </p> <p>https://youtu.be/jvlxaR_fhDA</p> <p><strong>Papillion La Vista South vs. Omaha Central</strong></p> <p>The Titans were able to speed up Omaha Central a few notches and get them out of the flow of their offense in the second and third quarters. In that same time, seniors <strong>Tyler Culp </strong>and <strong>Mason Burger</strong> were lighting it up with jumpers, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="890580" first="Daniel" last="Brocaille"]</strong> was attacking the basket and earning free throws. The Eagles had success late with their 3/4 court press. [player_tooltip player_id="890469" first="Faisaun" last="Germany"] came up with a steal or deflection whenever Central needed it, and [player_tooltip player_id="890589" first="Jayden" last="Dawson"] was lights out from three, finishing 5 of 10 from distance. When Central needed stops in the half court, though, they couldn’t get them. The Titans did an excellent job of punishing the pressing Eagles defense with back cuts and pump fakes. They stayed calm and surgically broke the pressure. </p> <p><strong>Lincoln East vs. Lincoln Pius X</strong></p> <p>By a score of 56–51, Lincoln East pulled off possibly the most surprising upset in Districts. [player_tooltip player_id="890474" first="Carter" last="Glenn"] led the way with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Junior <strong>Joe Marfisi </strong>had his second-highest scoring output of the season (15) while also providing excellent energy on the glass and moving the ball well on offense. It was not the greatest shooting night for Pius X, but the game was decided at the free throw line. Lincoln East made 13 more than Pius X.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>