By Bob Hamar
bob.hamar@theindependent.com

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Independent/Scott Kingsley Jake O'Connor can't reach the loose ball before it's picked up by Elmwood-Murdock's Tyler Schmale in the first half of the C2 state championship at the Devaney Sports Center. The Crusaders fell 59-48. Independent/Scott Kingsley Luke Wagoner defends against Elmwood-Murdock's Kevin Zoz during the C2 state championship in Lincoln. Central Catholic fell 59-48. Click Thumbnails to View

Kevin Zoz scored 19 points to lead Elmwood-Murdock to a 59-48 victory over the Crusaders in the Class C-2 state final.

It was the first state title for the Knights (23-3) and the first runner-up finish for the Crusaders (17-8).

"They're a really disciplined team," Central Catholic coach Bill Gavers said of Elmwood-Murdock. "They're well-coached. You have to give them a lot of credit.

"Everything goes through Zoz. He is obviously an all-state player. He's extremely disciplined and well balanced. He always takes care of the ball."

Spencer Fahey led the Crusaders with 20 points while Jake O'Connor had 13. Freshman Turner Fahey had nine points on three 3-pointers.

GICC's defense carried the Crusaders in wins over Deshler and Ravenna, but the Knights handled the pressure well with just nine turnovers for the game.

"I thought their defensive pressure was going to be hard to handle," Elmwood-Murdock coach Terry Warner said. "Our kids really responded and we really attacked the basket. I thought that was the big key the whole game. We didn't get our offense pushed out. Our kids were very aggressive offensively against their defense."

The Knights burned the GICC defense for 18 of 29 shooting from the floor. They shot 58 percent in the first half, then buried 66.7 percent of their shots after the break.

Elmwood-Murdock held a 24-23 lead at the half after Turner Fahey hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the second quarter.

"We finished the half well," Gavers said. "Spencer hit Turner for a three and he knocked it down, so we felt good. We felt like we were getting good looks. We felt like we were executing well."

But the Knights took over in the third quarter. Zoz hit a 3-pointer, his only of the game, to give Elmwood-Murdock a 30-25 lead with 3 minutes, 40 seconds left in the period.

After O'Connor hit a 3-pointer to pull the Crusaders to within 30-28, the Knights scored seven straight to go up 37-30.

"We got behind to start the half," Gavers said. "We got some good shots but we couldn't knock them down. Then we had to extend a little bit to try and make it a possessions game, and they executed their stuff well. That's kind of the game in a nutshell."

Elmwood-Murdock controlled things from there on. The Knights led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter.

The Knights' zone certainly caused the Crusaders some problems. GICC made 18 of 44 shots from the field and were 10 of 25 from 3-point territory.

"We mixed it up a little bit with our 1-3-1," Warner said of the defense. "We knew they had two great shooters who can get it off anytime, anywhere. Sometimes we'd have hands in (Spencer Fahey's face) and he'd come up with some big shots."

Gavers said the Crusaders took good shots, but could have been a little more patient on offense.

"That's a double-edged sword," Gavers said. "I think our guys were in rhythm when they shot them. We have some good shooters. We could have gotten the ball inside a little bit more, but they were also collapsing down. I don't think we took a lot of bad shots that you don't want guys taking."

The Knights, who also got 14 points from Trenton Shrader and 12 from Tyler Schmale, never got rattled against the Crusaders.

"I think it has a lot to do with our football program," Warner said. "We make the playoffs every year and we go a little bit deeper and deeper. I think that does something for our mental toughness, and I think out here our mental toughness showed with our senior leadership.

"They didn't let the pressure get to them."

The game was the last for Central Catholic seniors Mike Buck, O'Connor, Sam Bolton, Luke Wagoner and Ethan Krolikowski. Gavers said it was a great year for the Crusaders who had to wait for a wild card berth after losing to Gibbon in subdistrict play.

"The loss hurts," Gavers said. "You can see it in their eyes. You can see it in their faces.

"The most disappointing thing is that it's the last time that we're together as a team. Win or lose this game, that's how we would have felt. This has been a great group on a daily basis."

ELMWOOD-MURDOCK 59, GI CENTRAL CATHOLIC 48

ELMWOOD-MURDOCK (23-3)

Trenton Shrader 5-6 4-7 14, Travis Brewer 2-3 0-0 4, Jonathan Luetchens 2-3 2-2 6, Kevin Zoz 5-11 8-9 19, Adam Zobel 0-1 1-2 1, Matthew Novak 1-1 0-0 3, Tyler Schmale 3-4 3-6 12, Alexander Ulmer 0-0 0-0 0, Clayton Carlton 0-0 0-0 0, Joshua Vice 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-29 18-26 59

GRAND ISLAND CC (17-8)

Lucas Wagoner 1-2 0-0 2, Sam Bolton 2-2 0-2 4, Michael Buck 0-1 0-0 0, Spencer Fahey 7-19 2-2 20, Jacob O'Connor 5-12 0-0 13, Erick Ortiz 0-0 0-0 0, Turner Fahey 3-7 0-0 9, Seth Wardyn 0-0 0-0 0, Casey Wiens 0-0 0-0 0, Kelly Zimmerman 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas Howard 0-1 0-0 0, Ethan Krolikowski 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 18-44 2-5 48.

Elmwood-Murdock 15 9 13 22 59

Grand Island Central Catholic 12 11 7 18 48

3-Point GoalsEM 5-6 (Luetchens 0-1, Zoz 1-1, Novak 1-1, Schmale 3-3), GICC 10-25 (S. Fahey 4-12, O'Connor 3-8, T. Fahey 3-5). Fouled OutO'Connor. ReboundsEM 22 (Shrader 6), GICC 21 (O'Connor 6). AssistsEM 9 (Zoz 4), GICC 12 (S. Fahey 7). Total FoulsEM 11, GICC 19.