Seger, West Holt Win First-Ever Niobrara Valley Tourney Title

Cinderella is alive and well, and living in the greater Atkinson area.

Seeded No. 7, the West Holt boys roared to the championship of last week's Niobrara Valley Conference boys basketball tournament, beating No. 5 seed Niobrara/Verdigre, 50-49, in the final. West Holt is now 14-7 for the season.

You can listen to my conversation with West Holt senior post Aaron Seger by clicking on our premium message board, Huskerland Headlines.

In its third year as a member of the NVC, West Holt had not reached even the conference final four before winning this year's title. Seger, a 6-5 post, is the team's leading scorer at 15.3 points per game and his veteran presence has be vital to the team's success, says head coach Todd Hale.

"Aaron is a very good all-around player for us and a real leader, somebody who has been around the program and does things the right way," says Coach Hale, who is in his 16th year at West Holt. "We have a lot of players who contribute to our team's success, but you need a kid like Aaron to make good things happen."

Coach Hale says the West Holt team has been able to concentrate on one possession at a time, always playing for each other, and generally playing tough, physical basketball every night out. "Playing three games in three days like we did to finish the tournament really tested our kids' mental toughness, but they responded very well. One thing about this team, you know they are going to give you great effort every time they step on the court."