The Johnson-Brock boys basketball team won the D1-1 Subdistrict Tournament held at Wilber-Clatonia Public School. The Eagles opened the tournament with a 56-51 overtime win over Diller-Odell on Feb. 19 and then beat Pawnee City 53-46 on Feb. 20. The Indians had reached the subdistrict finals with a 51-34 victory over Friend in the opening round.
Eagles Coach Nick Krenk said, “Dustin Niedermeyer had a huge game for us against the Griffins scoring 32 points and going 10/10 from the free throw line.  We had a rough start to the game, but our switch to a 3-2 defense really helped to slow Diller-Odell down offensively.  
“Both teams made a lot of big plays and kept hanging around until the very end. This game is the type that is tough to see one team lose. Both squads fought for the entire game and both teams really deserved the opportunity to advance to the next round.”
Scoring by Quarters:
Johnson-Brock  6-13-16-13-8--56
Diller-Odell      11-8-14-15-3--51
Also scoring for the winners were  Nick Stahl with 12 points, Lukas Buchemeier 6, Tyler Ebeler and Nick Behrends 3 apiece.
The Eagles made 17 of 32 buckets (53%), 3 of 8 treys (38%), and 13 of 14 free throws (93%).
Diller-Odell made19 of 28 field goals (68%), 3 of 16 treys (19%), and 4 of 8 free throws (50%).
Leading J-B rebounders: Stahl 6, Niedermeyer 5, Taylor Wenzl 3.
Most assists: Stahl and Wenzl 5, Behrends 4.
Steals: Behrends 4; Stahl 3; Buchmeier, Wenzl and Niedermeyer 2; Ebeler 1.
Stahl blocked three shots.
Behrends and Niedermeyer each drew a charge.
Niedermeyer finished the game with four fouls.  
Subdistrict Finals
Coach Krenk said about the Eagles’ Subdistrict finals effort, “Dustin Niedermeyer came up huge again with 31 points and nine rebounds. Our 3-2 zone gave Pawnee City some problems and they just couldn’t get many shots to fall. Our free throw shooting has been a big addition as we went 19/25 for the game.
“Although we led the entire game, we just couldn’t shake Pawnee City.  They kept coming back strong and making shots, always right on our tail. We really finished quarters well though, and that was a huge difference in the game.  
“We seem to be coming together at the right time, and even though we are currently 11-14 we are playing confident basketball. The addition of Nick Behrends these last three games has really been a calming presence for the team. Nick tore his ACL the first game of football season, and he has worked his tail off to make it back by the end of the year. He is a three-year starter and would have been a likely all-stater if he hadn’t gotten hurt. Nick still isn’t full speed, but he has really helped us out the last few games.  Everyone has played great, but the added depth has been a big boost.”
Scoring by Quarters:
Johnson-Brock  14-8-13-18--53
Pawnee City       7-8-15-16--46
Eagles scorers: Niedermeyer 31, Dontavious Sturgeon-Rieger 6, Wenzl 5, Stahl and Buchmeier 4, Behrends 3.
The Eagles made 14 of 27 buckets (52%), 2 of 7 treys (29%) and 19 of 25 free throws (76%).
The Indians made 14 of 28 buckets (50%), 3 of 20 treys (15%), and 9 of 14 free throws (64%).
Leading rebounders: Niedermeyer 9, Sturgeon-Rieger 7, Stahl and Wenzl 4.
Most assists: Stahl 4, Buchmeier and Wenzl 3.
Steals: Behrends and Stahl 2; Ebeler, Buchmeier, Sturgeon-Rieger, and Niedermeyer 1.
Stahl was whistled for four fouls, one more than Behrends, Buchemeier and Wenzl.
Pawnee City finished its season with a 20-6 record. Other final records are 9-12 Diller-Odell and 6-14 Friend.
The Eagles advanced to Tuesday’s D1-1 District Final at Beatrice against 21-3 BDS. The only losses this year for number 5 rated BDS have been to 23-0 Class D1 Kenesaw, 20-4 Class D2 Giltner and 22-3 Class C2 Johnson County Central. BDS had won 12 straight games.
Subdistrict D1-2 scores: BDS 47-32 over (12-11) Heartland; Exeter-Milligan 57-52 over (14-6) McCool Junction; and BDS 49-37 over (17-7) Exeter-Milligan.
Eagles Qualify for State for Third Consecutive Year
Tuesday night, Feb. 26, the Eagles defeated BDS 55-40 to qualify for their third consecutive state tournament. Johnson-Brock will play in the Class D-1 state tournament after qualifying in Class C-2 the past two years.
In the district final, Johnson-Brock held BDS scoreless in the first quarter, and led 21-6 at halftime and 36-14 after three quarters. BDS’ 26 fourth-quarter points weren’t enough to overcome the Eagles’ lead.
Four Eagles scored in double figures. Behrends and Wenzl each scored 11 points; while Niedermeyer and Stahl scored 10 points apiece.
The projected first round pairing for the Eagles on Thursday, March 7, is Howells-Dodge (26-0) at 7 p.m. at Lincoln North Star High School, 5801 N. 33rd St.
Also in the Class D-1 state field are: High Plains (21-4), O’Neill St. Mary’s (21-4), Arapahoe (24-4), Paxton (25-0), Kenesaw (23-1) and Burwell (24-2).
The Johnson-Brock/Howells-Dodge winner will play the Kenesaw-Burwell winner Friday, March 8, at 8:45 p.m. at Pershing Center.
Saturday, March 9, the Class D-1 championship will be at 8:30 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The third place game is at 2 p.m. at Lincoln High School.