Senior Shooting Leads Bulldogs Back to State Tournament

Last season, the Auburn boys basketball team missed out on the Class C1 state basketball tournament for the first time in seven years after falling in the district final at home. On Monday night, the Bulldogs hosted their second straight district final in Auburn, but the result would be flipped as Auburn punched their ticket to state with a 50-44 win over Omaha Concordia.
In what could have been the final game of their careers, Auburn’s three senior starters lifted the Bulldogs to a win with hot shooting from beyond the arch. Brenton Wenzl had a team-high 14 points on three three-pointers. Creighton Keeling also knocked down three triples in the first half to give Auburn a five point lead at halftime.
The Mustangs switch to an aggressive zone defense in hopes to speed Auburn up and force some turnovers, but senior Carson Lavigne splashed a pair of triples from the soft spot of the zone to extend Auburn’s lead to 11 points in the second half. 
Concordia made a late push, earning offensive rebounds and trips to the foul line to cut Auburn’s lead to as few as four points late in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs ended the game with two straight defensive stops to finish off the Mustangs by a score of 50-44 before they cut down the nets to celebrate their seventh district championship in eight seasons.
Concordia - 9 - 12 - 10 - 13 - 44
Auburn - 9 - 17 - 10 - 14 - 50

NSAA State Tourney Bracket