BOYS BASKETBALL: Bard’s Three-Pointer Lifts Rockets Past Storm

LINCOLN–(KLMS Jan. 18)–Jake Bard nailed three, three-pointers in the first half and didn’t hit his fourth until the decisive moment.  The 5-8 senior guard hit a three-pointer from the deep left corner with less than five seconds left to give Lincoln Northeast a 69-66 win over Elkhorn South Saturday night at the Ed Johnson Gym, in a game heard on ESPN Lincoln FM101.5/1480AM.

Bard, who finished with 14 points, caught the ball off a pass from Carson Busch and hit the game-winning shot, capping off a Northeast rally, after being down by as much as 60-57.

Elkhorn South called time out to set up a shot to tie, but an attempt by Tate Odvody fell short of the rim, about 25 feet away from the basket.

Busch, who scored 14 of his 15 points in the second half, hit a three-pointer to tied the game at 60 with 4:42 to play.  Three minutes later, Busch later put Northeast up 66-64 off a layup from the middle of the lane.  Elkhorn South countered when 6-5 senior forward Reid Nelson scored off an offensive rebound to tie the game at 66 with less than 50 seconds left in the game.  Northeast then ran down the clock to set up Bard’s winning shot.

Northeast (6-7) led 16-13 after the first quarter and jumped out to a 30-21 lead with 4:03 left in the second quarter, when Bard, Zachary Moerer and Pierce Bazil each hit three-pointers.  The Rockets led at halftime 37-32.

Elkhorn South (2-10) had a strong start to the second half.  Zach LaFave, who led the Storm with 19 points, immediately converted on a three-point play, then guard Max Mosser scored from close range and Koy Wilke scored in transition to tie the game at 39 with 6:29 left in the third quarter.  LaFave converted on another three-point play with 5:20 left in the quarter to give Elkhorn South a 42-41 lead.

Northeast stormed back, as Bazil hit a three-pointer and 6-7 senior center Reece Fuchs completed a three-point play with 4:32 remaining in the third to put the Rockets back in control at 47-42.  Both teams were tied at 54 entering the final period.

Bazil scored a team-high 19 points to lead Northeast, while 6-7 junior Connor Renard finished with 13 points to help the Rockets.