By Bob Gonderinger
sports.desk@theindependent.com

Hastings St. Cecilia used that same strategy to give the Crusaders a look in the mirror, as the Classd C-1 No. 7 Bluehawks took a 41-34 victory in a battle of state-rated teams Friday at Central Catholic High School.

St. Cecilia (15-2) used a stifling man to man defensive charge to keep the Crusader offense in first gear most of the night. In a game marked by superior defensive effort byboth teams, Central Catholic suffered through one of its worst shooting nights of the season. The Crusaders were held to 11-of-39 attempts from the floor, as the St. Cecilia front line made life miserable for the Central Catholic offense.

"That was our game plan," St. Cecilia co-coach Rob Kober said. "We knew we couldn't give their guards any space. Our kids knew we had to blanket them. We just plaved very good team defense. We didn't give up second shots, and when we had the ball we had to be as patient as we could."

Class C-2 No. 4 Central Catholic (13-6) was hampered by some early turnovers, which allowed the Bluehawks to pick up some early baskets, but the Crusaders went inside to Sam Bolton, who hit his first three shots inside to help Central Catholic tie things up twice late in the first. St. Cecilia, though, finished the quarter with six unanswered points. That was the foundation of a lead that the Bluehawks would never relinquish.

"The turnovers were big," Gavers said. "That gave them some easy points early on. Their defensive intensity hurt us. Both teams had problems with half court execution, and in the second half we had to go away from our motion offense to some specials to free Spencer (Fahey) up."

The good news for Central Catholic was that Fahey got involved in the offense in the second quarter. The bad news was that no one else could.

Fahey scored all 11 points for the Crusaders in the second, hitting three three-pointers. St. Cecilia began to find success inside with buckets from Riley Nikkila and Dalton Sealey, as well as a putback by Zane Anstine, and led by as many as 10, but Fahey connected twice from long range in the final 90 seconds to cut the lead to 25-21.

The second half was a case of so close yet so far for the Crusaders, who kept things within one or two possessions for virtually all the rest of the way. The Crusaders were unable to duplicate their early succes inside with Bolton, who was limited to only two shots after the first quarter. Unfortunately for Central Catholic, it found no one else to step up offensively, as the remainder of the team contributed only four points.

"I thought both teams schematically played well defensively," Gavers said. "We gave up some second shots in the first half, but in the second we did much better on the boards. The kids competed for each other, even when we were down 10.

"Late in the game we got some really good looks when we were down four. We had guys who were willing to step up and shoot. The thing I like is that we have to be tough-minded and resilient, and we haven't folded. We have to keep playing five as one."

Fahey finished with 24 points to lead all scorers. Nikkila led the Bluehawks with 14 points, while Jake Hamburger finished with 12.

HASTINGS SC 41, GRAND ISLAND CC 34

ST. CECILIA (15-2)

Sealey 3-5 2-2 8, Esch 0-3 0-0 0, Souchek 0-1 0-0 0, Farmer 0-2 2-2 2, Nikkila 5-7 3-4 14, Hamburger 4-8 4-6 12, Wright 0-4 0-1 0, Anstine 1-3 0-0 2, Goedert 1-2 1-1 3. Totals 14-35 12-16 41.

CENTRAL CATHOLIC (13-6)

S. Fahey 6-18 8-8 24, O'Connor 0-7 0-0 0, Bolton 3-5 0-0 6, T. Fahey 0-2 0-0 0, Wagoner 2-5 0-0 4, Wiens 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 11-39 8-8 34.

St. Cecilia 16 9 6 1041

Central Catholic 10 11 6 734

3-Point goalsHSC 1-8 (Esch 0-2, Nikkila 1-2, Hamburger 0-3, Wright 0-1), GICC 4-17 (S. Fahey 4-11, O'Connor 0-3, T. Fahey 0-1, Wiens 0-2). Fouled outNone. ReboundsHSC 26 (Wright 8), GICC 21 (Wagoner 6). AssistsHSC 7 (Anstine 3), GICC 4 (S. Fahey 2). TurnoversHSC 8, GICC 12. Total foulsHSC 12, GICC 15. TechnicalsNone.