Wauneta-Palisade, DCS boys headed to state tournament

    Two area teams will head to Lincoln for this week’s boys state basketball tournament.
    Wauneta-Palisade takes a 19-6 record into the Class D2 tournament, which earned them the No. 6 seed. They will face the No. 3 seed Mead, who comes in at 17-6.
    The Broncs play their opener at 7 p.m. CT Thursday at Lincoln East.
    They defeated Wilcox-Hildreth 53-51 in the district final to punch their ticket to Lincoln.
    Dundy County Stratton (DCS) defeated Paxton 45-41 in the district final for their 23rd win of the season.
    Their 23-3 record earned DCS the No. 1 seed in Class D1. They will face No. 8 seed Guardian Angels Central Catholic (Hartington) in their opener at 2 p.m. CT, also at Lincoln East.
    Other western Nebraska teams competing in the tournament include No. 2 seed Scottsbluff (24-2) and No. 4 seed Alliance (19-5) in Class B; No. 4 seed Gothenburg (25-2) in Class C1; No. 8 seed Southwest (14-11) in Class C2; and No. 5 seed Mullen (24-2) and No. 8 seed Garden County (17-6) in Class D2.
DCS girls Class D1 runner-up
    Dundy County Stratton’s girls suffered their first loss of the season in a double-overtime finish of the Class D1 finals with Guardian Angels Central Catholic before falling 53-50.
    The Tigers were runners-up in D1 in 2015 as well.
    Mitchell, who defeated Chase County in the C1-8 district final, fell in the first round to fourth place Ord.
    SPVA foe North Platte St. Pat’s fell in the first round of C2 as well, losing to third place Ravenna.
    Cambridge also fell in the first round of C2, losing to the eventual champion, Howells-Dodge.
    Another CCS opponent, Class B Sidney, went down in the first round, falling to runner-up Norris.
    Other western teams falling in the first round of D2 included Sandhills-Thedford and Potter-Dix.
    This Saturday’s finals of the boys tournament can be watched live on NET.