Warriors Win NVC Quarterfinal; Rematch With O-C Thursday

The Cyclones and Warriors earned the opportunity at a rematch this week as both teams won their quarterfinals on Monday night in Clearwater.

The top-seeded Cyclones defeated No. 8 North Central 55-39 while No. 5 Neligh-Oakdale topped No. 4 West Holt 63-56.

Clearwater-Orchard and Neligh-Oakdale will play Thursday at 6:15 p.m. in Stuart.

Neligh-Oakdale defeated West Holt for the second time this season. The Warriors took the lead for good midway through the fourth quarter when Grant White drove the lane, drawing the foul. He completed the three-point play for the 57-54 lead. 

Tyson Belitz came up big for the Warriors late in the game. He connected via an assist from Ben Lingenfelter and finished a perfect 4-for-4 from the line in the final minute to seal the win.

"A completely different game then we played just a week ago at their place," N-O Coach Frank Gade said. "Give credit to West Holt, they shot the ball well and stretched our defense, but we scored just enough to come out ahead. All of our games from here on out are going to be just like that game tonight, so I was happy to see us come out ahead and prove that we have learned from the mistakes we have made in the past."

Alex Kerkman went 5 of 8 from the 3-point line to lead the Warriors with 19 points. Belitz scored 15 points, Lingenfelter put in 12 and White added 10. Click here for complete game stats.  

Quarterfinals:
Neligh-Oakdale 14  19  14  16 - 63
West Holt         15  19  12  10 - 56