LINCOLN, Neb.—Mead won its first state basketball championship since 1935 on Saturday night with a 55-52 victory over Humphrey St. Francis in the Class D1 final.
Eric Johnson hit two free throws with five seconds left for the final margin after Derek Classen made a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game.
“I wasn’t going to let this one slip away. We were too close,” Johnson said. “This is a big thing. It feels good. Really good.”
Classen’s desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer fell far short.
Johnson finished with a game-high 24 points for the Raiders (19-6). Nathan Raver added 14 points and Jordan Moline 10.
Trent Classen made 5-of-6 3-pointers and led St. Francis (21-5) with 17 points, and Derek Classen added 16.
“What a run they had. In the second half they just played better than us,” St. Francis coach Eric Kessler said. “They made more plays than we did down the stretch.”
It was the second straight year and third time in five years St. Francis lost in the finals. The Flyers won the D1 crown in 2006.
Mead won the Class F title in 1926 and Class B championships in 1932 and 1935.
