Near-perfect start sends top-ranked Norris past No. 3 Pius X

Norris was nearly perfect for 28 minutes Friday night.
It was just good enough to grab a tough road win.
Class B’s top-ranked team made its first eight shots. It hit buzzer beaters at the end of the first three quarters, committed just three turnovers, and finished the first half with only one foul.
And the Titans held on late for a 73-66 win over No. 3 Lincoln Pius X in the Bolts’ Flavin Gymnasium.
Pius X (11-8) was coming off one of its best performances of the season in a 29-point demolition of No. 5-ranked Gretna East on Tuesday.
But the Bolts got going too late Friday, trailing by 10 at halftime and by 20 midway through the third quarter before making a push to get the game to single digits with about two minutes left.
That deficit came despite holding Norris scoreless for the first 4 minutes, 40 seconds of the second quarter.
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“Our mindset coming in was, just cut it loose and attack, and whatever happens, happens,” Norris coach Jimmy Motz said. “And I thought our kids did a good job of handling that.
“It was different guys at different times that made things happen.”
Norris was flawless to start the game, sprinting to a 12-2 lead and quieting a raucous Pius X home crowd that had packed Flavin Gym for the school’s annual Pink Out night. After making their first eight shots, the Titans then missed two in a row on one possession, rebounded them both, and got a layup to keep the momentum going.
“That’s exactly what we were hoping for,” Norris guard Evan Greenfield said. “We knew there was going to be a lot of energy in the gym, and we knew they were good — really, really good.
“And we knew if we wanted to beat them, we’d have to get out to a great start, and at the end of the game that was the difference. If we didn’t have that start, who knows what happens?”
Greenfield scored a team-high 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting, adding four rebounds. Barret Boesiger added 17, with eight coming in the fourth quarter to help hold off Pius X’s rally.
Alex Small finished with 10 points for the Titans while Jarret Behrends had nine.
In fact, all eight Norris players who scored had done so by the end of the first quarter.
“That’s what makes us really hard to stop. It could be anyone,” Greenfield said. “You can’t just guard one guy because everyone can do everything, and that’s really fun to play with guys who can do that.”
Pius X got 26 points from Parker Kelly. Kolbe Volkmer came off the bench to score 10 of his 12 points in the second half while grabbing a game-high seven rebounds. Michael Haith finished with 11 points and seven boards.
The came offered a potential preview of the B-1 subdistrict tournament, where Norris and Pius X will be the top two seeds.
Pius X has just two regular-season games remaining. The Bolts won’t play again until February 8 and 13, and then will have 13 days off before subdistrict play starts.
Plenty of time to try and figure out how to catch one of the top teams in the state.
“It was a great learning experience for us to see where we’re at in comparison,” Pius X coach Adam Brill said. “They’re a very experienced team. They’re very, very good.”

Norris’ Josh Bomschlegl (left) is defended by Lincoln Pius X’s Cole Randall on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, in Lincoln.
Reach the writer at (402) 473-7436 or cbasnett@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ChrisBasnettLJS.
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