GOLD TEAM CLAIMS MR. BASKETBALL TITLE After losing their first round of pool play in the Mr. Basketball Tournament, a close 51 - 54 contest to the South Dakota Heat, the Bison Gold won their next six games to claim the tournament championship. Finishing pool play with a 2 - 1 record, the Golds easily disposed of the Minnesota Magic Elite 2, 66 - 34 and survived in the second round as Ryan Tegtmeier hit both ends of a 1 and 1 with 3.5 seconds to go and the Gold prevailed over Denver Red Shield 42 - 39. In the semi finals, the Bison Gold avenged their loss to South Dakota Heat in a convincing manner, downing the Dakotoans 62 - 41. The championship matched the Gold against Sports Academy of Omaha. Down by as many as 13 points, the Gold put on a staunch defensive effort in the second half and caught the Omaha team late in the game, finally pulling out a one point 46 - 45 win for the title.

Mr. Basketball -- Kearney, Ne.; July 1 - 4, 2010

POOL GAME 1:

Nebraska Bison Gold (0-0) 22 29 51
SOUTH DAKOTA HEAT 30 24 54

Preston Luedtke-Columbus Lakeview 0
Alex Leiss-Kearney Catholic 2
Luke McNitt-Kearney High 1
Dylan Bolke-Norris 4
Ryan Tegtmeier-Davenport 10
Noah Housh-Lincoln Northstar 3
Luke Wright-North Platte 6
Jake Nannen-Lincoln Southeast 6
Aaron Walker-Lincoln Southeast 2
Connor Lusso-Millard West 5
Jack Hummel-Creighton Prep 12

The Bison Gold lost their first game of the Mr. Basketball tournament to the South Dakota Heat. The first half was a back and forth affair with the Heat having a late first half surge to take a 30-22 lead. After trailing by 10 points mid way thru the second half the Bison Gold went on a 26-10 run to lead by six points with 2:17 to go in the second half. After missing a 1 and 1 free throw opportunity the Heat hit a 3 point shot to cut the lead in half. After a Bison gold turnover the Heat hit another 3 point shot to tie the game with 47 seconds. The Bison Gold then attempted a final shot but missed and the Heat got the rebound with 3.5 seconds left in the game. After a time out the heat threw a pass to the three point line which was caught and shot in the basket as the buzzer went off. Poor free throw shooting hurt t he Bison Gold in the end going 6 for 13 from the charity line. Jack Hummel pace the Bison Gold with 12 points followed by Ryan Tegtmeier with 10. The Bison Gold will continue pool play on Friday with games at 9 am and 5:10 pm.

POOL GAME 2:

Nebraska Bison Gold (0-1) 28 35 63
The Legends B-ball Club 16 10 26

Preston Luedtke-Columbus Lakeview 0
Alex Leiss-Kearney Catholic 6
Luke McNitt-Kearney High 3
Dylan Bolke-Norris 15
Ryan Tegtmeier-Davenport 6
Noah Housh-Lincoln Northstar 6
Luke Wright-North Platte 6
Jake Nannen-Lincoln Southeast 9
Aaron Walker-Lincoln Southeast 2
Connor Lusso-Millard West 6
Jack Hummel-Creighton Prep 4

The Bison Gold won their first game of the Mr. Basketball Tournament by beating the The Legends Basketball Club 63-26. The Bison Gold jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. After leading 28-16 at halftime the Bison Gold's press and fast break help the team go on a 25-5 run during the second half to widen the final margin of victory. Leading the scoring parade for the Bison Gold was Dylan Bolke with 15 points followed by Jake Nannen with 9 points. The Bison Gold will finish pool play later this afternoon and start tournament play on Saturday.

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POOL GAME #3:

Nebraska Bison Gold (1-1) 49 31 80
Colorado Shining Stars 19 17 36

Preston Luedtke-Columbus Lakeview 3
Alex Leiss-Kearney Catholic 4
Luke McNitt-Kearney High 4
Dylan Bolke-Norris 10
Ryan Tegtmeier-Davenport 4
Noah Housh-Lincoln Northstar 10
Luke Wright-North Platte 4
Jake Nannen-Lincoln Southeast 8
Aaron Walker-Lincoln Southeast 6
Connor Lusso-Millard West 12
Jack Hummel-Creighton Prep 15

The Bison Gold won their second pool game of the Mr. Basketball Tournament by beating the The Colorado Shining Stars 80-36. The Bison jump out early with a stifling press and built a 49-19 lead at halftime. In the second half good team defense and great play on offense led to the final margin of victory. Leading the Bison Gold in scoring was Jack Hummel with 15 followed by Connor Lusso with 12. The Bison Gold will enter tournament play on Saturday afternoon against the Missouri Magic Select II.

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TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND:

Nebraska Bison Gold (2-1) 44 22 66
Minnesota Magic Elite II 15 19 34

Preston Luedtke-Columbus Lakeview 0
Alex Leiss-Kearney Catholic 6
Luke McNitt-Kearney High 5
Dylan Bolke-Norris 18
Ryan Tegtmeier-Davenport 0
Noah Housh-Lincoln Northstar 10
Luke Wright-North Platte 4
Jake Nannen-Lincoln Southeast 5
Aaron Walker-Lincoln Southeast 5
Connor Lusso-Millard West 8
Jack Hummel-Creighton Prep 5

The Bison Gold won their first tournament game of the Mr. Basketball Tournament by beating the The Missouri Magic Elite II 66-34. The Bison Gold again jumped out to a huge halftime lead of 44-15 with great shooting and dominating press. Dylan Bolke made four 3 point shots in the first half to help the Bison Gold build the big halftime advantage. The Bison Gold will face a team from Denver Colorado on Saturday night. Leading the scoring parade for the Bison Gold was Dylan Bolhe with 18 followed by Noah Housh with 10.

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TOURNAMENT QUARTER FINALS

Nebraska Bison Gold (3-1) 17 25 42
Denver Red Shield 18 21 39

Preston Luedtke-Columbus Lakeview 0
Alex Leiss-Kearney Catholic 0
Luke McNitt-Kearney High 0
Dylan Bohlke-Norris 0
Ryan Tegtmeier-Davenport 11
Noah Housh-Lincoln Northstar 2
Luke Wright-North Platte 0
Jake Nannen-Lincoln Southeast 6
Aaron Walker-Lincoln Southeast 2
Connor Lusso-Millard West 10
Jack Hummel-Creighton Prep 11

The Bison Gold won their second game of the Mr. Basketball Tournament beating the Denver Red Shield 42-39. The first half was a close game with the Red Shield leading by one at halftime. In the second half neither team could sustain a lead but Ryan Tegtmeier hit both ends of a 1 and 1 with 3.5 seconds to go in the game to seal the win for the Bison Gold. The Red Shield attempted a half court shot as the buzzer went of but the shot fell short. The Bison Gold will play in the semi finals on Sunday morning against the South Dakota Heat the team that beat the Bison Gold on a buzzer beater during pool play. The leading scorers the Bison Gold were Jack Hummel and Ryan Tegtmeier each with 11 points.

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TOURNAMENT SEMI FINALS

Nebraska Bison Gold (4-1) 33 29 62
South Dakota Heat 19 22 41

Preston Luedtke-Columbus Lakeview 4
Alex Leiss-Kearney Catholic 3
Luke McNitt-Kearney High 5
Dylan Bohlke-Norris 3
Ryan Tegtmeier-Davenport 6
Noah Housh-Lincoln Northstar 9
Luke Wright-North Platte 6
Jake Nannen-Lincoln Southeast 2
Aaron Walker-Lincoln Southeast 8
Connor Lusso-Millard West 9
Jack Hummel-Creighton Prep 7

The Bison Gold won their second tournament game of the Mr. Basketball Tournament by beating The South Dakota Heat by the score of 62-41. The Heatt had beaten the Bison Gold in the first pool play game on a buzzer beater so the win was a sweet revenge for the Bison Gold. The Bison Gold jumped out to an early lead and the score at half was 33-19. With 10 minutes to go in the game the Bison Gold extended the lead to 22 points with great defense and clutch shooting. Both Coach Herzberg and Coach Eickhoff said this was the team's best defensive effort of the young summer season. Every Bison Gold player scored in the game. The leading scorers were Connor Lusso and Noah Housh each with nine points. The Bison Gold will face the Omaha Sports Academy in the championship game Sunday afternoon.

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TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP

Nebraska Bison Gold (5-1 ) 20 26 46
Omaha Sports Academy 28 17 45

Preston Luedtke-Columbus Lakeview 9
Alex Leiss-Kearney Catholic 0
Luke McNitt-Kearney High 5
Dylan Bohlke-Norris 2
Ryan Tegtmeier-Davenport 6
Noah Housh-Lincoln Northstar 1
Luke Wright-North Platte 5
Jake Nannen-Lincoln Southeast 6
Aaron Walker-Lincoln Southeast 2
Connor Lusso-Millard West 6
Jack Hummel-Creighton Prep 4

The Bison Gold won the Mr. Basketball Tournament by beating the The Omaha Sports Academy 46-45. The Sports Academy jumped out to an early lead and built a 28-20 halftime margin. The Sports Academy started the second half by scoring the first five points to build a 13 point lead. From that point on lead by Preston Luedtke's clutch shooting and great team defense the Bison Gold took a three point lead with two minutes to go in the game. After the Bison Gold missed a front end of a one on one and with 22 seconds left in the game the defense of the Bison Gold turned away a last ditch shot by The Sports Academy to come away with a 1 point victory and the overall championship in the 9/10 division of the tournament. The Bison Gold will start pool play at the Indiana Shootout on Tuesday afternoon.