LINCOLN, Neb.—Every time Adam Mingus would shoot Ravenna to a big lead, Kyle Schlake and Elliott Mencl would find a way to bring Freeman back.
Eventually, after Ravenna’s 15-point lead dissolved into nothing, it was Connor Beranek and Eric Johnson who came to he rescue for the Blue Jays in a 57-51 victory in the Class C2 final Saturday at the boys state tournament.
Mingus scored 12 points to lead Ravenna (23-5) to big leads. But it was Johnson and Beranek who jump-started Ravenna in the fourth quarter, with Beranek hitting a pair of 25-foot 3-pointers to give the Blue Jays the lead again after Freeman briefly went ahead.
“I was feeling it. I practice those shots all the time,” said Beranek, a freshman who scored 11 points. “They were huge shots. I shot them with a lot of confidence.”
Mingus scored nine points in the first half to help the Blue Jays get out to a 26-16 lead.
A Riley Beranek 3-pointer with 5:51 left in the third quarter put Ravenna out in front 34-19 before Freeman rallied.
Mencl scored seven points in the third period and the Falcons pulled within 38-34 by the end of the quarter. A Jordan Pella jumper off the feed from Mencl gave Freeman a 39-38 lead with 5:26 left.
But Connor Beranek took the next two shots for Ravenna, both going in from well beyond the arc.
Johnson scored five of his 12 points late in the game, including three free throws to ice the win.
“Our kids showed how tough they really are. They fought their way back into it and took the lead,” Freeman coach Jim McLaughlin said. “The freshman (Beranek) throws one up and you hold your breath because you know he’s capable of making them.”
Mencl scored 15 to lead Freeman, while Schlake and Ryan Busboom scored 12 points each for the Falcons.
Ravenna picked up its sixth title and second since 2005. Freeman (25-2) was in the finals for the first time.
