S/SA boys take final step to state

How sweet it is!
The Spalding/Spalding Academy Knights wrote some history Tuesday, Feb. 26, defeating Humphrey High School 54-40 to win the D2-2 District championship and qualify for the 2013 Nebraska Boys State Basketball Tournament.

Although Spalding High School previously qualified for the state tournament seven times and Spalding Academy made five appearances, with a D2 runner-up finish in 1988, this is the first time the Knight boys have qualified since the schools began competing as a cooperative in 1997.
Spalding/Academy also assumed the #1 position in the latest Omaha World-Herald D2 Top 10 with its D2-2 championship victory.
There were some obvious jitters for the players in black and silver at the start of the district final. The Knights found themselves trailing 7-6 after a sloppy first quarter, but calmed the nerves of S/SA fans with a 24-point second-period explosion and 31-19 halftime lead.
Spalding/Academy continued to control the second half with outstanding defensive pressure, holding Humphrey to 37 field goal attempts and forcing 29 Bulldog turnovers.
Offensively, Mike Glaser and Kyle Bloom combined to score 46 of S/SA’s 54 points – Glaser pouring in 29 and Bloom 17.

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