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One shot at the
end of the third quarter changed the fortunes for both teams of the
boys' 3A state championship game.
With Nemaha
Valley leading by one point with four seconds to play in the third
quarter, Wichita Trinity's Cole Graddy delivered an NBA-range
3-pointer that lifted the Knights to their first Class 3A state
championship.
Graddy's bomb
at the end of the third quarter sparked Wichita Trinity to a 28-11
run over 8:04 of the contest. Wichita Trinity was 9 of 10 shooting
in the fourth quarter. Nemaha Valley was 3 of 16 in the final eight
minutes
Top-seeded
Nemaha Valley (23-3), which trailed throughout, finally tied the
game on a Dane Brinker 3-pointer and then took a 28-26 lead with
1:22 to play on a Brinker layup. After Graddy hit 1 of 2 free throws
with 6 seconds to play, the Raiders committed a turnover on the
inbound. Then Graddy took the inbound pass well behind the 3-point
line and buried the momentum-changing trey to give Trinity a 30-28
lead after three quarters.
Graddy finished
with 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists to lead Trinity
(24-2). Scott Henderson added 13 points. Trinity shot 21 of 36 for
the game (58.3 percent), while holding Nemaha Valley to 28.3 percent
shooting (13 of 46).
Patrick Schulte
led Nemaha Valley with 18 points. |
