LINCOLN, Neb.—Dalton Sealey scored 24 points and Hastings St. Cecilia won its third straight Class C1 boys basketball championship with a 46-40 victory over Elliott Eliason and Chadron on Saturday.
Eliason, the 6-foot-11 University of Minnesota recruit, was held to 14 points and seven rebounds in his final high school game.
Sealey said this title might be a bit sweeter than the previous two.
“After we lost all our big guys last year, a lot of people had questions about us,” Sealey said. “We came out and showed them.”
St. Cecilia’s Joe Ryan hit a 3-pointer to tie it 35-all with 4:42 left, and Sealy struck from long distance on the Bluehawks’ next possession for the lead.
With Eliason holding down the inside, St. Cecilia used a perimeter-oriented offense rather than its typical inside-out attack. The Bluehawks were 6 for 8 on 3s, with Sealy going 4 for 5.
Eliason struggled with his shot, going 6 of 12 from the floor and just 2 of 5 from the free-throw line. He came into the tournament averaging better than 18 points and 10 rebounds.
“Elliott had easy baskets underneath that just didn’t go down,” Chadron coach Craig Nobiling said. “Unfortunately, sometimes that’s the way it goes.”
The Bluehawks had 6-10 junior Zachery Sterup guard Eliason, with 6-4 senior Paul Goedert helping on double teams.
Sterup was not in the best shape to handle the assignment. He fell ill after dinner Friday and went to a hospital emergency room with a severe headache, neck stiffness and a 102.6-degree fever. He was given medication, including morphine, and was back at his hotel at 1:30 a.m.
Sterup played 29 of the 32 minutes.
“During the game I wasn’t too stiff,” Sterup said. “I had a little trouble breathing in the first half, but the second half I was a lot better. I wish I was a little more healthy, but you can’t ask for more than a win.”
