UTICA, NE — Winning streaks and conference bragging rights were up for grabs Saturday night at Centennial High School.

The Southern Nebraska Conference crowned its champions in a pair of contests, one of which needed four extra minutes to decide a winner. 

The girls championship pitted the No. 1 Milford Eagles against the No. 2 Superior Wildcats. Milford came into the contest with an 18-3 record and an eight-game win streak. Superior entered with a 12-game win streak and an 18-2 record. The Wildcats last loss had come to Milford back in December. 

Milford jumped out to an early 12-2 lead behind three-pointers by Kaitlin Kontor and Tanya Miller. After a timeout, Superior climbed back in with a 7-0 run to make it 12-9. Milford ended the first quarter with a couple of quick buckets to make it 16-9 after one.

The Eagles then clamped down on defense, allowing just 11 points over the next two quarters. Milford meanwhile kept its offense rolling, particularly in the third quarter, in which they scored 17 points. By the end of the third, Milford had the game well in hand leading 43-20. 

Milford had its largest lead at 46-20 early in the fourth quarter, but a Superior 8-0 run trimmed the Wildcats' deficit to 46-28. The comeback was too little to late however as the Eagles won the game 51-34. 

Four Milford players finished in double figures. Ayla Roth led the way with 15 points while Miller finished with 12, Kontor scored 11 and Izzy Yeackley finished with 10. Superior was paced by Sadie Cornell who had 13 points. 

The boys championship featuring the No. 3 Fillmore Central Panthers and No. 4 David City Scouts went down to the wire and then past the wire into overtime. Heading into the contest, both squads had 12-7 records. Fillmore Central owned a five-game win streak and had won eight of its last nine games coming in. David City had a three-game win streak and had claimed six of seven entering the championship game. 

The Scouts dominated the early going as the Panthers struggled from the field and got into foul trouble. David City led after the first quarter 15-5. 

David City built its lead to as many as 13 in the second quarter. The Scouts took advantage of the Panthers foul issues, hitting five of seven free throws in the period. Trailing 20-7 with about five-and-a-half minutes left in the half, Fillmore Central began to turn things around. 

The teams traded buckets and the Scouts still led by a dozen — 25-13 with two minutes left in the half. Fillmore Central then got key buckets from Keegan Theobald and Luke Kimbrough as part of an 8-0 run to close out the second quarter. At halftime, David City's lead was just four at 25-21. 

The Panthers kept rolling early in the third quarter, starting on a 5-0 run to take at 26-25 advantage. This was the first lead of the contest for Fillmore Central. 

Fillmore Central's defense was also intense in the third, holding David City to just four points in the period. The Panthers took a 33-29 lead into the fourth. 

In most of the fourth quarter, the two teams traded buckets back and forth, cycling between a four-point and two-point Fillmore Central lead. Entering the final minute, the Panthers were holding onto a 41-37 advantage. 

David City got a bucket in the lane from Clayton Zavodny with about 50 seconds to go then, off a Panther turnover and after a timeout, Brock Dubbs made one from underneath the hoop to tie the game at 41 with 14 seconds left. 

In a wild sequence to end regulation, David City forced another turnover in their backcourt with about eight seconds to go, passed the ball back up the floor, but failed to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded. 

During overtime, it was Zavodny vs. Theobald. The two scored all of the points in the extra period for their respective teams. 

After Theobald got the scoring started, Zavodny hit back-to-back shots to give the Scouts a 45-43 lead with one minute left. It was their first lead since holding a 27-26 advantage in the third quarter. 

On Fillmore Central's ensuing possession, Theobald made the clutch shot when needed. The senior hit a three-pointer over David City's Caden Denker to put Fillmore Central up 46-45 with just under 21 seconds to go. 

The Scouts put up two shots in the closing seconds, one under the hoop and one from outside the arc, but neither fell as Fillmore Central held on and won the Southern Nebraska Conference title 46-45. 

Theobald finished with 15 points to lead Fillmore Central. Carson Asche had 10 for the Panthers. Dubbs led David City with 18 points and Zavodny finished his day with 11 points. 

Next up for the Milford girls is their regular season finale on Friday against Sandy Creek. Superior's ladies travel to Smith Center, Kan. Monday for its penultimate regular season game. 

Fillmore Central's boys take on Sandy Creek in their contest Tuesday. David City plays next on Thursday at Madison.