YORK – Upsets took place in the girl’s bracket, while all the top seeds advance to the semifinals on the boy’s side in the 2024 Crossroads Conference Basketball Tournament in York. Monday saw the quarterfinals for both brackets. The boys played at the Freeman Center in York, the girls played at the York City Auditorium.
On Tuesday, the girls semifinals take place at the Auditorium featuring #1 Cross County and #5 High Plains at 6pm. Following that, #6 Dorchester takes on #2 McCool Junction.
The boys semifinals go on Thursday night at the Auditorium and will pit #1 McCool Junction against #4 Cross County, and #2 Osceola against #3 Nebraska Lutheran.
All semifinal games are on Max Country, and live on Striv TV.
How did they get there? Here’s a recap from Monday’s quarterfinals
GIRLS
High Plains 32, Shelby RC 30
The High Plains Storm girls basketball team earned a berth in the Tuesday semifinals with a 32-30 Monday afternoon win over Shelby-Rising City in Crossroads Conference tournament action at the York City Auditorium. The Storm controlled the game early, racing to a 15-6 lead after one quarter, and still maintained the advantage 18-10 at the half. But the Huskies switched to a zone defense after intermission, holding High Plains to just two third quarter points, and scored 14 of their own to take a 24-20 lead. In the final period, the Storm started to penetrate the zone and get in for close range shots, regaining the lead, and held on for the two-point win. High Plains (8-4) was led by Peyton Hofman’s 12 points, while Courtney Carlstrom added 9. Taya Pinneo and Ava Larmon eche scored 10 points for the Huskies (6-7). High Plains will now face top-seed Cross County in a semifinal clash Tuesday evening at 6 at the York City Auditorium.
Dorchester 49, Osceola 25
In the second game of the day, Dorchester claimed a 49-25 win over Osceola in an abbreviated game to earn a berth in a Tuesday semifinal game against McCool Junction. Dorchester opened the game with a big lead and never let up, leading the entire way before the game was suspended. Gabbi Theis of Dorchester (11-4) led all scorers with 17 points, while Emersyn Prososki paced Osceola (8-5) with 12. The game was called after three quarters due to a medical emergency in the stands.
McCool Junction 61, Meridian 29
About one year ago, McCool Junction beat Meridian 35-34 in OT in an all-time classic for the girls CRC Final. The two faced off in the quarterfinals Monday with McCool Junction winning 61-29. McKenna Yates paced McCool with 21 points. Claire Brugger added 11, and Sara Weisheit was in double figures with 10. Meridian was led by Jaylee Sobotka with 10. McCool Junction still has a chance at defending the CRC crown and will face the #6 Dorchester on Tuesday.
Cross County 64, Neb Lutheran 39
The top-seed Cross County Cougars advanced to the semifinals after beating the Nebraska Lutheran Knights 64-39. The two teams went back-and-forth for the first half with the Knights holding onto the lead 17-16 at one point in the second quarter. Cross County closed the first half out with a 10-3 run to make it a 27-19 lead at the break. The Cougars shut the door on the game with a big second half run. Cross County will move on to face High Plains in Tuesday’s semifinals.
BOYS
McCool Junction 65, East Butler 24
The top-seed McCool Junction Mustangs blasted the East Butler Tigers in the quarterfinals of the boys CRC. Mapieu Kouchinin paced the Mustangs with 17 points. Trenton Orlando added 12, and Ja Soukup came off the bench for 7. The Tiger were led by Jackson Smaus who scored 7. McCool Junction advances to face the Cross County Cougars on Thursday in the CRC Semifinals. Cross County beat McCool Junction 44-31 back in early-December.
Cross County 62, High Plains 37
Behind Ashton Seim and Alex Noyd’s 15 points apiece, the Cross County Cougars are on their way to another CRC semifinal berth. The 2022 champions beat High Plains 62-37. Noyd’s 15 points were all on three-point shots, as the senior continued to spark momentum in the Cougars team throughout the game. Cross County will face the top-seed McCool Junction on Thursday night at 6pm.
Nebraska Lutheran 57, Shelby RC 33
Nebraska Lutheran and Shelby-Rising City were in a battle after the first quarter with the Knights holding on to a five-point lead. Nebraska Lutheran then held the Huskies to just one-point in the second quarter, to their 13 for a 30-13 halftime lead. Shelby-Rising City fought back with a 18-13 win in the third quarter, but the Knights finished off the fourth quarter getting the win 57-33. Lukas Worster for Nebraska Lutheran led all scorers with 15 points. Isaac Beierman for the Knights added 13. Shelby-Rising City was led by Dalton Pokorney who had 12. The Knights move on to their first CRC semifinal to face the defending-champions Osceola Bulldogs.
Osceola 56, BDS 48
It was really a tale of two halves for the BDS and Osceola boys quarterfinal matchup at the Freeman Center. Osceola was all over the Eagles in the first half, leading 33-11 going into the halftime locker room. In typical BDS-nature, the Eagles fought hard to get back in the game. The Eagles outscored the Bulldogs 14-7 in the third quarter, then turned a 23-point deficit in the third quarter to a 4-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs, however, did just enough to put the game away in the final frame. BDS outscored Osceola in the second half 37-23, but it was enough for Osceola as they picked up the 56-48 win. The Bulldogs head to the CRC semifinals for a fourth straight year, and will face #3 Nebraska Lutheran on Thursday.
