LINCOLN — This year’s Class D2 State Tournament features a pair of big shooters — really big shooters.
Shelton’s Ashton Simmons and Jeremiah Ingison of Maywood-Hayes Center have both hit for more than 500 points this basketball season.
Simmons, a 6-3 senior forward, is averaging more than 22 points per contest. He is helping his team average a staggering 71.1 points per game this season. That leads all squads in this year’s D2 Elite Eight.
Ingison, a 6-7 senior post, has pumped in 501 points so far this season.
One area athlete, Wynot’s Dylan Heine, also made this year’s Top 10 scoring list. He has dropped in 303 points so far this season.
Walthill has also put up some pretty impressive offensive numbers on the season, averaging 65.8 points per game. Its biggest scoring outburst came in a 90-24 drubbing of Siouxland Christian early in the season.
There is a good reason why Shelton comes into this year’s State tournament as the top seed. The Clippers are also one of the leaders in the field in team defense, allowing just 39.1 points per game this season. Shelton has held its foes to 30 points or less six times this season.
Humphrey St. Francis leads the field with 38.3 points allowed per game this season. The Fliers have held six of their foes to 30 points or less so far in 2023-24.