Creighton Prep coach Josh Luedtke called it “a classic.â€
His son, Kyle Luedtke, made sure it was a classic worth remembering from a Junior Jay standpoint.
Kyle Luedtke scored Creighton Prep’s final seven points, including all five in the third overtime as the top-ranked Jays outlasted an upset-minded, eighth-ranked Lincoln Pius X team 83-80 in a dramatic Class A first-round game at the state boys basketball tournament Thursday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
“Both teams laid it on the line,†said Coach Luedtke, whose 24-1 Junior Jays beat Pius X 73-52 at Creighton Prep just over a month ago. “Pius might be the hottest team in the state after what they did at districts and again tonight. Every time we’d go up five or seven, to Pius’ credit, they always came back.â€
The only time Pius X (16-9) didn’t bounce back all the way was in the third extra session. Kyle Luedtke nailed a three-pointer from the left corner for an 81-78 advantage with 2:53 left, an edge Prep would never surrender. He later added two free throws with 1:46 remaining for a five-point lead.
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“We work on the drive and kick every day, and it was a shot I had to hit to put our team up for a while,†said Luedtke, a 6-foot-5 senior who finished with 18 points. Lincoln High transfer Jaylin Hunter led the Jays with 22 points.
A driving basket by Thunderbolt junior Joe Dworak, the final two of his game-high 25 points, produced the final score with 1:15 left. Pius X had two opportunities to tie the game after that when Prep missed a pair of shots inside with 55 seconds left and missed two free throws with 7.8 seconds remaining.
But Pius X had three-pointers rim away in both cases, and Prep survived to play in the 8:45 p.m. Friday semifinal.
“Kyle stepped up and made some big plays when we needed it, and I’m proud of him,†Coach Luedtke said. “I’m just glad he gets another chance to play.â€
Pius X coach Brian Spicka called it “one of the best games I’ve been a part of and one of the best games I’ve ever seen.
“The amount of heart, the amount of desire, the amount of energy that both teams brought to that game was incredible,†he added. “They really gave these fans their money’s worth, and probably more.â€
Pius X went toe-to-toe with Prep in a frantic first quarter, trailing 25-24 after one period. The only lead the Thunderbolts had in the first half came on a Joe Burt layup with 6 seconds left that gave Pius X a 39-38 edge at the break.
Prep led by as many as seven in the third quarter, only to see the Bolts crawl back again. Pius X took its first lead of the second half on a Burt three-pointer with 48 seconds left that put it in front 68-67.
Akol Arop, a 6-6 junior standout who had 21 points and 12 rebounds, converted a three-point play with 11.2 seconds showing to put Prep up by two. Prep’s Jayden Temme (14 points) got a steal with 2.8 seconds left and hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 71-68.
Charlie Easley answered with a 28-foot bank shot from the right wing as time expired to force overtime. Easley finished with 20 points.
When it went in, “I was like ‘Oh crap,’" Kyle Luedtke said. “As soon as Charlie shot it, I figured it would go in, even though we were all over him. That’s the way the night had gone up to that point.â€
Pius X had the final possession at the end of the first two overtimes, but a traveling call and a shot attempt after the buzzer kept the game going.
“We never got the mismatches we wanted at the end of both overtimes,†Spicka said. “We tell our guys just to go out and make a play in those situations, and Creighton Prep did a great job defending those plays.â€