Archangels shuts down Sacred Heart in second half to secure spot in D2 semis
The Irish managed just six points in the second half and the Defenders are in the state semifinal for the second straight season
LINCOLN – A game that was played within a possession or two for the entire first half became one-sided in the second when one team went cold: #2 Archangels Catholic shut down #7 Falls City Sacred Heart in the second half Wednesday afternoon, and the Defenders coasted into the semifinals of the D2 bracket for the second straight season with a 49-28 victory at the Devaney Center.
Archangels won two games at the state tournament and finished in third place in year number one under their new moniker, and now have secured their first win of the 2026 installment of the Nebraska Boys Basketball State Championships after authoring a shutdown second half against Sacred Heart.
The Defenders came out on the offensive early and built an 11-5 lead after one quarter, but the Irish completely flipped the script in the second quarter, hitting six of their ten field goal tries to score 17 points and grab a 22-19 lead at the intermission.
But the Irish offense evaporated in the second half as the Defenders lived up to their name. FCSH scored those 17 points in the second quarter, but scored 16 points total over the other three frames. Sacred Heart shot 2-of-22 from the field in the second half and scored a grand total of six points over the final 16 minutes – in that same span, Archangels was a flat 50% from the field, and 10-of-16 from the foul line, scoring 30 points after halftime to ultimately cruise to a quarterfinal win.
Ethan Wieseler paced the Defender with ten points and 12 rebounds, both game-highs, with Brenden Johannes also turning in ten points (2-of-10 FG) and nine rebounds. In a true team effort, Archangels’ Kellan Mundil turned in eight points and eight rebounds, and Gavin Geilenkirchen had eight and seven. Brenden Lemerond was the leading scorer for FCSH with eight points (2-of-8 3pt).
Archangels finished third in the D2 bracket in their first year playing under their new name, and will now appear in the state semifinals for the second season in a row. The Defenders will face either #3 St. Mary’s or #6 Wynot at 10:45 AM on Friday at Devaney.
Archangels Catholic Full Box Score
# | Player | PTS | FG | 3FG | FT | OR | DR | REB | A | PF | TO | BL | ST | MIN | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12* | GEILENKIRCHEN, | 8 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 2-7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 19 |
20* | WIESELER, ETHAN | 10 | 5-11 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 17 |
21* | JOHANNES, BREND | 10 | 2-10 | 0-3 | 6-8 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 24 |
24* | MUNDIL, KELLAN | 8 | 3-8 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 22 |
32* | CZARNICK, TUCKE | 7 | 3-7 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 17 |
3 | WIETFELD, TATE | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
5 | WIETFELD, CADE | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
22 | KELLER, JACOB | 0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
30 | REICHMUTH, JETT | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
33 | WEGNER, MAX | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
34 | FREUDENBURG, CH | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
44 | CLASSEN, TANNER | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
50 | BRAUN, GAGE | 6 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 1 |
TM | TEAM | 0 | - | - | - | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||||
TOTALS | 49 | 19-47 | 1-8 | 10-20 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 7 | |||
GAME PCT | 40.4 | 12.5 | 50.0 | ||||||||||||
FCSH Full Box Score
# | Player | PTS | FG | 3FG | FT | OR | DR | REB | A | PF | TO | BL | ST | MIN | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3* | TAFT, COLE | 7 | 2-12 | 2-10 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 30 | -19 |
4* | FLETCHER, BO | 0 | 0-9 | 0-6 | 0-0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 23 | -30 |
11* | LEMEROND, BREND | 8 | 3-9 | 2-8 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 29 | -22 |
20* | CLOW, HAYDEN | 0 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 | -14 |
43* | KNOBBE, COOPER | 1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | -8 |
5 | SIPPLE, KYLER | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
13 | LANCASTER, JJ | 5 | 2-6 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | -3 |
15 | WITT, CASH | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
21 | BAXTER, TOBY | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | -5 |
25 | SANTO, OWEN | 0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
31 | WITT, TREYDON | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
33 | HOWARD, NOAH | 7 | 3-5 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 18 | -3 |
TM | TEAM | 0 | - | - | - | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |||||
TOTALS | 28 | 10-45 | 6-35 | 2-6 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 6 | 20 | 12 | 0 | 11 | |||
GAME PCT | 22.2 | 17.1 | 33.3 | ||||||||||||