BOYS BASKETBALL: Knights Claim City Title With Narrow Win Over Gators

LINCOLN–(KFOR Feb. 17)–An 8-2 scoring run with under a minute and a half left in the game helped the Lincoln Southeast boys basketball team to a city title on Friday night.

The Knights relied on their bench for scoring, as sophomore guard Mari Shumaker scored a game-high 15 points to help Southeast in a 52-49 victory over North Star in a game heard on KFOR.

Because of North Star not winning and Lincoln East losing to Papillion-LaVista South on Friday, Southeast clinched the city title after 4-2 against the city teams, including a 19-point win over East on Jan. 24.  East had to have North Star beat Southeast in order to claim the championship.

After trailing by 12 points in the third quarter, the Gators rallied back to trail by two, 32-30 entering the fourth quarter.  North Star’s advantage didn’t last long, as Shumaker nailed a three-pointer and drew a foul to complete a four-point play that saw Southeast go back ahead 44-42 with 3:49 left in the game.  Then Brennon Clemmons answered for North Star by converting on a three-point play that saw the Gators reclaim the lead at 45-44 with 1:53 to play.

The momentum shifted for good, when North Star’s 6-8 senior forward Antallah Sandlin’el fouled out and a technical foul was assessed.  Southeast’s Jake Hilkemann sank both free throws from the technical that gave the Knights the advantage the rest of the way.  Hilkemann, who played his first two seasons at North Star, added nine points in the Southeast win.

Then BJ Bradford hit a three-pointer with 47 seconds left for the Southeast advantage to grow to four.  North Star got a quick answer on a basket that cut the deficit down to two before Shumaker made one of two free throws to extend the Knights’ lead to three.  A North Star turnover led to Dak to finish with a dunk that ultimately gave Southeast the win.

Clemmons scored right before the buzzer, which saw the game end with a three-point victory for Southeast.  He and KG Gatwech each scored 14 points to lead North Star, while sophomore guard Lazerek Houston added 10 points, all in the second half, for the Gators.

Click the links below to hear the podcast of the game.

Lincoln Southeast at Lincoln North Star Boys Basketball 1st Half
Lincoln Southeast at Lincoln North Star Boys Basketball 2nd Half