JOHNSON, Neb. - A close, defensive struggle broke out early Monday night between fourth-seeded Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer and the five seed Lourdes Central Catholic at Johnson-Brock in the opening round of the D1-1 subdistrict, but HTRS used a big second half, outscoring the opposition by 17 for a 46-30 victory. 

The Titans (4-18) prevailed in a battle of extremely young teams that have struggled this season after losing key contributors from last year, despite trailing 15-14 at halftime. 

LCC took its first lead just before the half when Sage McLaren knocked in a 3-pointer. Trevor Tesarek canned one from distance as well in the third giving Lourdes its largest lead at 22-20. 

Tied at 22 with 1:22 remaining in the third quarter, HTRS guard Alex Koziol drilled a 3-pointer off a terrific inside-out pass from backcourt mate Hunter Bohling. Brennen Vaughan then scored back-to-back baskets with tough finishes through contact at the rim to extend the lead out to 31-23 in the fourth quarter.

Then sophomore Brady Schnitzer went on a personal 4-0 run to bring Lourdes (3-20) back within four.

But the Titan's leading scorer Brogan Dunlap connected on a straightaway 3-pointer on the next possession to extend the lead back to 34-27. Dunlap wasn't finished there, either. 

The sophomore then converted a three-point play after receiving a sweet pass from sharpshooter Jack Hunzeker underneath to give the Titans a 10-point advantage. 

From there, it was a free throw shooting contest for HTRS as it knocked down seven freebees to end the game in a 16-point victory. A lid was on the basket in the fourth for LCC.

It seemed as if an outside force denied the Knight's basket after basket with a number of shots and layups touching all parts of the rim while refusing to drop through the net. 

Dunlap--who was held scoreless in a turnover riddled first half--came alive in the second to score a game-high 16 points. Hunzeker added 10 with three first-half 3-pointers.

Trevor Tesarek hit a couple of 3s on his way to 10 points for the Knights while junior Miles Poppleton scored nine.

HTRS advances to play top-seeded Johnson-Brock in the semifinals Tuesday at 6 p.m. with the winner playing either Weeping Water (3-18) or Pawnee City (12-9) in the championship on Thursday. 

The Titans upset JB in the semifinals in last year's subdistrict tournament. 

Box Score: 

Lourdes (3-20): 11, 4, 8, 7 - 30

HTRS (4-18): 11, 3, 13, 19 - 46