LINCOLN, Neb.—Akoy Agau had 18 points, 15 rebounds and nine shot blocks Saturday and Omaha Central returned to the top of Class A basketball with a 71-58 victory over Norfolk in the state championship game Saturday night.
The Eagles won their fourth title in four years. They strung three together from 2006-08, missed the state tournament last season and then rolled to a 23-4 record on the shoulders of seniors Deverell Biggs and Sean McGary and Agau, a 6-foot-7 freshman.
“We’d rather be here,” Central coach Eric Behrens said as his team celebrated on the court.
The Eagles suffered a last-second loss in districts a year ago and, Behrens said, committed themselves to make it back to Lincoln.
“It probably was good for me because maybe I was taking this for granted,” he said. “It kind of showed me how much I like being down here, how important this is. Our kids worked especially hard in the offseason, so maybe it helped us.”
The Eagles barely made it to the final. They needed Agau’s basket with 3.5 seconds left and every one of Biggs’ 35 points to beat Lincoln Southeast 53-52 in Friday’s semifinals.
Saturday’s game wasn’t as close. Central had a 12-point lead in the third quarter before Norfolk cut it to four early in the fourth.
The Panthers had chances, with Central missing 9 of 16 free throws in the last five minutes. But the Panthers scored field goals on just four of their last 16 possessions.
“Central’s athleticism took over in the second half,” Norfolk coach Ben Ries said. “They picked it up defensively, and it was hard to score on them. They’re definitely a deserving state champion.”
Biggs followed his big outing against Southeast with 19 points, including three dunks. One of them was an alley-oop jam off a McGary pass.
McGary added 16 points and Josh Hackett 10 for the Eagles.
Brady Lollman had 21 points, Jalen Bradley 19 points and Nathan Marsh 14 rebounds for Norfolk (22-3).
With five seniors graduating, Agau showed he’s ready to assume even more of a leadership role next season.
“We have to work hard in the offseason so we can get back here,” he said.
