It’s semifinal Thursday at state tournament

The semifinal round games are underway at the Boys’ State Basketball Tournament. Nick Ford scored 13 of his team high 17-points in the second half as Pomeroy-Palmer took command in a 60-50 victory over Boyden-Hull in the class 1A semifinals. Pomeroy-Palmer made 12 of 17 shots in the second half but Ford says better defense was the key in the second half. Boyden-Hull’s Dusty Meyn had five three-pointers in the opening half but managed only three-points after halftime.Despite shooting 50-percent in the opening half Boyden-Hull trailed by one at halftime and 12 first half turnovers were a major reason. Comets coach Bill Francis says his team was playing too fast in the first half. He says they wanted it so bad that they pushed it too hard and were making hustle mistakes.The Knights winning streak now stands at 53-games as they bid for a second straight 1A title tomorrow night. They’ll face Fredricksburg in the title game. Phillip Borman’s lay-up off an inbounds pass with 15-seconds remaining gave the Falcons the lead for good as they rallied past Treynor 66-63. Borman says the out-of-bounds play developed just as they wanted. He says the play has been stopped by several teams as they run it a lot, but says this time it worked. Treynor coach Jerry Christensen says 22-turnovers were costly for his team. He says his kids hadn’t seen such a tough press before and that hurt them.