Giltner's Dustin Hastings drives to the basket against
Amherst's Cale Preble in the Class D-2, District 4 final
Tuesday night in Gibbon.
GIBBON — Another season, another state tournament appearance.
The Giltner boys basketball team is heading back to Lincoln to play in the state tourney for the fifth straight year. The two-time defending state champion Hornets had a slow start to Tuesday's Class D-2, District 4 final, but they dominated the second half en route to a 59-29 victory over Amherst.
"We just talked about intensity at halftime (with a 26-19 lead). We talked about it at the beginning of the game, but a young team like Amherst, they're excited to be here, so they played with us," said Giltner head coach Matt Drew, whose team improved to 21-4. "Us going 90 percent instead of 100 percent makes us better on offense. On defense, we were getting some steals and pushing the ball, so that was good to see."
With the win, Giltner will be the No. 7 seed and play second-seeded Wynot (22-3) at 7 p.m. March 7 at Lincoln High in the opening round of the Class D-2 state tournament.
Giltner held just a seven-point lead at halftime of Tuesday's game, but the Hornets opened the third quarter hitting seven of their first eight shots from the floor. With 1:56 remaining in the third, Giltner had built a 41-23 lead.
To read more, see Wednesday's Hastings Tribune or the Tribune e-edition.>>>
