Northeast Nebraska Sports

LINCOLN — The Cedar Catholic Trojans were determined not to be denied again. Cedar has advanced to the State Tournament for four straight years, now, and the past three trips have all been one-and-done performances.
Not this year, though.
Cedar withstood a 37-35 first-round slugfest with Stanton, then fell to undefeated powerhouse Ravenna in the semifinals before taking on North Platte St. Patricks in the third-place game. The Trojans ended the season at 21-5.

“Our kids bounced back from the loss to Ravenna and showed up and played a great game,” Coach Matt Steffen said.  “St. Pats was a highly rated team that beat Ponca pretty good in the opener and our kids went out and beat them pretty good.”
Cedar took control from the start Saturday, using a solid inside-outside game of Logan Weinandt and James Kaiser to rack up a 23-12 first-quarter advantage. The Irish climbed back into the game with a 15-11 second-quarter run, but that’s all the closer they could get. Coach Steffen’s senior-laiden squad poured it on in the second half, outscoring North Platte 35-24 to take home the third-place plaque. James Kaiser paced the Cedar offense, connecting for 19 points. The freshman phenom connected on 3-7 from downtown and 6-7 from the line against the Irish.
Kyle Klug and Zach Steffen closed out their careers on a high note, both hitting for double digits. Klug hit for 16 points, while Steffen added 14.
Cedar took a page out of the Ravenna playbook in this one, and seemingly couldn’t miss from long distance, connecting on 10-19 from behind the arc.
Cedar        23    11   16    19   — 69
N Plate SP        12    15    12    12    —  51

Cedar    NP St. Pats
FG    22-50        18-50
FT    15-21        11-19
3 Pt    10-19        4-12
Reb    32        37
TOs    5            13
Fouls    19        17

SCORING
Cedar -  James Kaiser, 19;  Kyle Klug, 16;  Zach Steffen, 14;  Logan Feilmeier, 7; Logan Weinandt, 5;  Trevor Hamilton, 4; Grant Howell, 2; Mathew Leise, 2. North Platte St Pats – Andrew Vinton, 16; James Keenan, 14; Joseph Clinch, 10; Mathew Jensen, 8; Alexander Harms, 1; Brandon Neisen, 1; Andrew O’Neill, 1.

REBOUNDS
Cedar – Logan Weinandt, 8; Logan Feilmeier, 5; Trevor Hamilton, 4; Zach Steffen, 3; Pat Wieseler, 3; James Kaiser, 3;
Grant Howell, 2; Mathew Leise, 2; Kyle Klug, 1; Frank Herbolsheimer, 1. North Platte St Pats – Joseph Clinch, 9; James Keenan, 3; Andrew Vinton, 3; Joseph O’Malley, 3; Mathew Jensen, 2; Mark Mayfield, 2; Seth Lynes, 1; Mathew Buhrman, 1; Collin Piepper, 1.

ASSISTS
Cedar – Kyle Klug, 4;  Logan Feilmeier, 4; Logan Weinandt, 4; Grant Howell, 2; Zach Steffen, 1; Grant Howell, 1; Trevor Hamilton, 1.

STEALS
Cedar – Kyle Klug, 2; Zach Steffen, 2; Logan Weinandt, 1; James Kaiser, 1. North Platte St Pats – James Keenan, 2.

BLOCKS
Cedar – Mathew Leise, 1; Pat Wieseler, 1; Logan Weinandt, 1.

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