The St. Patrick’s Irish are back to state for the second straight season, and are the third seed in the Class C2 state tournament. Last season, in what was their first trip to state in six years, the Irish defeated Arapahoe in overtime in their first-round contest before falling to Fremont Archbishop Bergan and Ravenna to finish fourth at state. The 20-5 Irish, who knocked off Alma and Southern Valley in subdistrict action before beating Perkins County in the C2-6 district championship game, will strive to make a return to the state semifinals tonight, when they face Ponca in first round action at Lincoln Northeast High School. The sixth-seed Indians are 22-3 on the campaign. ESPN Radio 1410 will have the action live tonight. Pregame coverage begins at 8:30, with tip-off scheduled for 8:45.

#8 NORTH PLATTE ST. PATRICK’S IRISH (20-5) – third seed
>> Coach: William O’Malley
>> Scoring averages: 56.1-44.6
Player, Ht., Yr., Pts., Reb.
Andrew Vinton, 6-0, Sr., 15.0, 6.0
Joseph Clinch, 6-1, Jr., 11.1, 8.5
James Keenan, 6-0, Jr., 10.3, 3.6
Matthew Jensen, 5-10, Sr., 6.2, 4.2
Mark Mayfield, 6-2, So., 5.8, 3.8
>> Tournament history: Repeat qualifier is making 10th appearance. Won Class D in 1928.

#4 PONCA INDIANS (22-3) – sixth seed
>> Coach: Bob Hayes
>> Scoring averages: 54.8-38.8
Player, Ht., Yr., Pts., Reb.
Trenton Peterson, 6-5, Sr., 15.8, 4.0
Seth O’Neill, 6-5, Sr., 9.9, 7.6
Jesse Walsh, 5-10, Sr., 6.1, 1.7
Patrick Watchorn, 5-9, Jr., 4.8, 1.7
Shane Husen, 6-2, Sr., 4.6, 2.3
>> Tournament history: First appearance since 2008 and 14th overall. Won Class C-2 in ‘07 and was runner-up in ‘00.