By Bob Gonderinger
sports.desk@theindependent.com

The Ravenna Bluejays survived an early blitz by Axtell and unleashed two devastating runs of their own to advance to next week's Boys State Tournament with a 71-49 victory that was nearly as exhausting to watch as it was to play.

Upset-minded Axtell (18-5) had the Ravenna faithful grinding their teeth as it did everything right in the early going to jump to an 11-2 lead. Center Nickolas Robison got a pair of early inside baskets, and Brady Benson hit a three, while the Wildcat defense limited Ravenna to a pair of free throws. But the Bluejays shrugged off their early funk, and went to work with a vengeance.

Josh Deines sparked the run for Ravenna (23-1), scoring eight points in the last four minutes of the first quarter. Throw in a 3-pointer from Eric Johnson and a four-of-four performance from the line, and Ravenna had turned the tables with a powerhouse 15-1 run to close out the first quarter.

"When they went up 8-0 we called a timeout," Ravenna coach Paul Beranek said. "We were getting good shots but missing, and they were getting better shots and hitting them. We knew we had to keep them out of the paint, and once we hit a couple of shots things started going our way."

And it wasn't over yet, as Ravenna continued to score seemingly at will as the second quarter unfolded. Leading 17-12 afer one, the Bluejays outscored Axtell 14-3 to go up 31-15 midway through the second. That meant that after gaining its early lead, Axtell wound up on the wrong end of a 29-4 punchfest, and was on the verge of simply being swept out of the gym.

But that's not what happened, as the Wildcats were once again able to turn the tide. Axtell scored 10 unanswered points and limited the red-hot Bluejay offense to just one free throw in the final minute of the half, and it seemed with the lead cut to seven that momentum may have switched to the Axtell side of the court.

That possibility disappeared almost immediately, as the third quarter turned into another Ravenna showcase. Robison picked up his third foul in the opening seconds, and in his absence Ravenna took full advantage.

The Bluejays opened the period with a 16-0 run, with four different players hitting 3-pointers. Axtell finally broke out of its doldrums with a three from Trevor Fecht and an inside basket from Brady Benson, but 6-foot-6 Greg Nissen, who led the team with 21 points and 13 rebounds, responded with his second and third 3-pointers of the quarter as the Bluejays held a solid 54-34 lead going into the final eight minutes.

"We went through our checklist at half," Beranek said. "On three of the keys we were doing well, but unfortunately the fourth was limiting their offensive rebounding. They get a lot of their offense off the boards. I thought in the second half that we did a much better job in the lane, both in terms of limiting their drives and rebounding.

"Offensively, we were running well and pushing the issue, but all night long Axtell was crashing the crud out of the boards."

Axtell coach Brent Hinrichs felt that Ravenna was able to take advantage of Robison's absence in the third.

"One of the things that really hurt us was Robison going out," he said. "He's our best interior offensive player, and when he got his third foul they went on a 10 or 12 point run in the two minutes he was on the bench."

Axtell finally ran out of magic as the Wildcats were unable to manufacture any sustained runs, and instead were forced to trade buckets with the Bluejays. Interestingly, neither team saw its offensive output decrease to any meaningful extent even as both coaches went to their benches in the final minutes.

While acknowledging the satisfaction of winning the district title, Beranek said his team has its sights set higher.

"We'll go to work and start preparing for the first team," he said. "It's kind of a cliche, but you do have to take them one game at a time. But these guys want to win a state championship. We're in it to win it."

Deines had 11 points and Johnson hit three treys to finish with 10 for the Bluejays. Adam Mingus grabbed seven rebounds and delivered seven assists for Ravenna. Freshman Bryce Runge topped Axtell with 11.

At Kearney

RAVENNA 71, AXTELL 49

AXTELL (18-5)

Fahrenbruch 1-2 2-2 4, S. Fecht 2-8 0-0 4, T. Fecht 4-11 0-1 9, Benson 2-11 0-2 5, Gustafson 2-7 0-0 4, Clark 2-9 1-2 5, Larson 0-1 0-0 0, Runge 4-10 2-4 11, Robison 3-7 1-2 7. Totals 20-66 6-13 49.

RAVENNA (23-1)

Johnson 4-7 0-0 11, Klosterman 0-2 2-2 2, Habe 2-6 0-0 5, Chramosta 0-1 0-0 0, Deines 5-10 1-2 11, Basnett 0-4 2-2 2, Mingus 1-6 2-2 5, Douglas 1-1 0-0 2, Chizek 3-9 0-0 8, Payne 2-3 0-0 4, Nissen 6-10 6-6 21. Totals 24-59 13-14 71.

Axtell 12 13 9 1549

Ravenna 17 15 22 1771

3-Point goalsAxtell 3-22 (S. Fecht 0-4, T. Fecht 1-4, Benson 1-6, Clark 0-2, Runge 1-6), Ravenna 10-24 (Johnson 3-6, Habe 1-2, Chramosta 0-1, Deines 0-1, Basnett 0-1, Mingus 1-2, Chizek 2-7, Nissen 3-4) . Fouled outNone. ReboundsAxtell 43 (T. Fecht 10, Benson 7), Ravenna 41 (Nissen 13, Mingus 7). AssistsAxtell 12 (Gustafson 3, Fahrenbruch 3), Ravenna 17 (Mingus 7). TurnoversAxtell 19, Ravenna 16. Total foulsAxtell 15, Ravenna 14. TechnicalsNone.

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