For the third year in a row, the Dundy County Stratton Tigers will be heading to Lincoln for the NSAA Boys State Basketball Tournament. DCS had their hands full in the D1-7 District Final against Sutton but they found a way to win. The Tigers beat the Mustangs with the final tally being 46-33. Don't let the 46-33 score deceive you, it was an exciting and entertaining game.
Going into district final games, physical play is an expectation. And that is exactly what we got in this game. The scoring was hard to come by, but both teams were getting their jabs in during the game. After the initial eight minutes, DCS was leading over Sutton, 9-7. Sutton though, went on a run in the second quarter, leading 13-9 with 4:11 to go in the quarter.
DCS clawed back and a big three-pointer from Lane Brown with 40 seconds to go in the half gave the Tigers a 17-13 lead. That was the score at the intermission.
From there DCS pressed forward and increased their lead.
The third quarter was absolutely dominated by the Tigers on the glass, shooting, and on defense. The Tigers were up 30-15 going to the fourth. It was a 21-2 run going from to the fourth, a run that started late in the second period.
In the final quarter, to no one's surprise, the Mustangs would not go away. They opened the quarter with a 9-0 run to make it 30-24 with 5:10 to go in the game. But, the Tigers refocused and played solid ball to close out the game.
Sutton was led by Harrison Herndon had 13 points and Aidan Jones had 10. Sutton ends the season at 14-11.
DCS, qualifies for their third straight tournament, they are 22-5 on the season now. They were led by Lane Bybee with 16 points and Jackson Kerchal had 10 points.
We caught up with Jackson after the game and he was excited to get back to say the least. "I'm so excited. Even though I'm going to be playing a different sport (in college) this means so much to go for three times. Not many kids can say that they have," said Kerchal. The 2024 NSAA Boys State Basketball Tournament runs from Wednesday, March 6th to Saturday, March 9th.