The Storm raced away with the Region IX championship with a 93-67 win over Central Community College on Sunday, Feb. 28, at the Truman Center.

Head Coach Joel Wooton had said prior to the game that his team needed to work on putting teams away after getting a big lead. Southeast led just 43-35 at the break.

The Raiders cut into the lead right after halftime, as Luke Cadzow made a three with two seconds on the shot clock to close within 43-38. Another bucket by the Raiders after a defensive stop made it 43-41.

But the Storm went on a 10-2 run and never looked back to pull away for the blowout win in the second half. Wooton was said defensive intensity was a key part in the second half run.

“Whenever we play defense we get easy baskets on the other end,” Wooton explained.

Freshman Mitch Brown uncorked his best game of the season, coming off the bench to lead the team with 29 points. Brown was 5-8 from the three point line and 12-18 from the field overall. Wooton said Brown was due for a big game.

“Mitch has shown that ability all season. (He) just hadn’t hit any shots … we hope he can duplicate it,” Wooton stated.

Sophomore Snyder Cenecharles added 21 points and seven rebounds. Brandon Spencer, Noah Scott, and Taylor Britt had 13 points apiece, and went a combined 15-16 shooting from the foul line.

Central Community College has been a thorn in Southeast’s side for several years.

As the only other Division II team in Nebraska, they are the first step to the Division 2 National Tournament.

Three years ago, Southeast had a talented team led by all-conference point guard Josh Roberts. But they ran into a buzzsaw of a Raider team led by David Plain, who is starring at Hastings College, and Tra-Deon Hollins, who is leading the UNO Mavericks at the NCAA D1 level. It was a team that came within one win of winning the national championship.

Southeast got past Central last year to advance to the districts and on to the national tournament despite having a losing record (13-20).

The Storm got past Dakota College at Bottineau 72-69 in Bottineuw, N.D., and was matched up with the No. 1 team in the national tournament in Phoenix CC and lost 81-51. A second half surge wasn’t enough for the Storm in the consolation game, as they fell to CCBC Dundalk 78-73.

Like last year, the team will had a long road trip ahead of it for the District Playoffs.

The team was off to Inver Grove Heights, Minn., to take on Dakota County Tech, on Sunday, March 6, where the season ended with a 93-76 loss.