On Friday evening, we had a pair of consolation games on each side of the RPAC and, of course, the semifinal games. Once again, Wauneta-Palisade hosted the West, and Alma hosted the East.
By the night's end, we found out who would be playing in the championship and consolation games on Saturday in McCook.
At the end of the blog, be sure to check out the bracket for matchups and times.
RPAC WEST BOYS BASKETBALL RESULTS
The first game of the day was a consolation matchup between #5 Maywood-Hayes Center and #6 Maxwell. These two teams played on January 14th, and Maxwell won 57-46. Today, it was MHC getting the better of the Wildcats, winning 58-45.
MHC came out on fire, going on a 19-0 run before Maxwell scored. The Wolves led 19-5 after the first quarter. In the second, Maxwell was able to get some offense going, but they trailed 30-18 at the half.
In the third, the Wolves opened things up by scoring 11 points to Maxwell's six, it was 41-24 after three.
MHC was able to close things out and win this one.
Maxwell was led by Jesse Reyes and his 23 points, Joaquin Vega had eight.
For MHC, four players were in double figures. Kade Broz had 18, Keenan Richards and Grady Erickson had 11, and Jaxson Anders had 10.
In the second game, we had a thriller as #1 Hitchcock County won over #3 Wallace 52-50. This game started out with Hitchcock County up 8-0. The Falcons grew that lead and were up 16-4 after the first quarter. Wallace began to climb back, and it was 23-18 with the Wildcats trailing.
In the third quarter, it looked like Hitchcock County would run away and hide, as they led 39-30 after three.
In the fourth, though, it was intense. Going to the later stages, with 2:36 to go, Wallace hit a number of big shots to get within three, and it was 50-47. Hitchcock County took a timeout to regroup. In the final seconds, it was 52-50, and Wallace had one last chance to tie or win the game.
Max Hanson fired a mid-court shot that was right on line but bounced off the rim and off. Excellent effort from both teams.
For Hitchcock County, Adam Kisker scored 25 points, and Jayce Hauxwell scored 15.
For Wallace, Masen Messersmith scored 18 and hit four threes, Max Hanson scored 17 and hit five threes.
Now for the semifinal game...
In the West Finals, it was #2 seeded Dundy County Stratton versus #4 seeded Paxton. Dundy County Stratton was able to nab the victory and move to the RPAC Title Game. The final score was 48-37.
It was an incredibly physical game, with both teams playing hard. Scoring was hard to come by. DCS started on an 8-0 run. It wasn't until the 2:09 mark in the first Paxton scored. DCS led 11-6 after the first quarter.
In the second, the intensity increased, and DCS led 21-20.
Jumping to late in the third quarter, DCS was up 34-26. Paxton went on an 8-0 run to tie things up, and going to the fourth, it was 34-34.
In the final period, DCS was so tough on defense. The Tigers were able to get a few buckets early in the quarter and gain momentum. Paxton attempted to regain control, but shots did not fall. It wasn't until the 1:19 mark in the fourth that Paxton had their first field goal. of the quarter
Paxton played solid defense in the quarter themselves, but the Tigers did enough to get the lead and maintain it until the end.
For Paxton, Maddex McConnell had nine points, Noah Coppersmith scored eight, and Jasper Brewster scored seven.
Ethan Latta scored 16 for DCS, Lane Bybee scored 12, and Breck Horner scored eight.
RPAC EAST BOYS BASKETBALL RESULTS
The first consolation game of the day was #4 Medicine Valley versus #7 Southern Valley. Medicine Valley won the game 61-38. The first quarter was a close one as Medicine Valley led 12-11. In the second period, the Raiders were able to create some distance and were up 32-20 at halftime.
In the second half, Medicine Valley took control and outscored Southern Valley 29-12 to close things out for the Raiders.
Isaac Hamilton's 15 points led Southern Valley, and Tylor Grove had 11.
For Medicine Valley, Brody Senff had 19, Mason Roblee had 15, and Tyce Pate had 12.
In game two, it was a battle between #5 seed Hi-Line and #6 seed Southwest. The Roughriders squeaked out a win, 50-45.
Southwest created a nice lead of 11-4 in the opening quarter. In the second period, the offense for both teams picked up a little, and it was 24-20 in favor of Southwest. In the third, it tightened up even more as Southwest led 38-37 going to the fourth.
Southwest was able to outscore Hi-Line 12-8 in the fourth and get the victory.
Houston Billeter scored 29 for Southwest. Jacob Barber added 10.
For Hi-Line, Brody Diefenbaugh scored 14, and Zach Whittaker had 11.
Now for the East Finals...
This matchup featured the #1 seed, Alma, versus the #2, Bertrand. These two teams played one another to begin the season, and Alma won 54-31. This time, Alma won 54-38. Alma took a narrow lead after the first eight minutes, 15-12.
In the second quarter, Alma increased their lead by outscoring Bertrand 17-8, and it was 32-20 at the intermission. In the third, the scoring was similar at 12-10, which did not help Bertrand's comeback effort as they battled hard against the Cardinals. It was 44-30 going to the fourth period.
In the final quarter, Alma outscored Bertrand 10-8, took home the win, and moved to the RPAC Title Game on Saturday.
Marcus Hernandez scored 16 for Bertrand, and Thunder Nelson scored 10.
Zavier Mitchell scored 22 for Alma, Isaiah Neal scored 13, and Tucker Biskup scored nine.
For the title game, Dundy County is back in it for the first time since 2022. They beat Bertrand that season. They also have RPAC Titles in 2017, 2020, and 2021. They have five total appearances in the title game. In 2016, they were runner-ups; in 2009 and 2011, they finished 3rd; and in 2012 and 2018, they finished 4th. The past two seasons, they have also played in the consolation game on Saturday, winning both.
For Alma, they are back in the RPAC Championship for a second straight year. They fell to Maywood-Hayes Center last year, 40-34. For the rest of Alma's RPAC Basketball Tournament history, they were runner-ups in 2008 and 2017 and had 4th place finishes in 2011 and 2020.
So, the stage is set for Saturday, let's run through the whole schedule for the girls and the boys. If you need to get caught up on Thursday night's games for the girls that led to these matchups, you can read it here.
At 2:00 P.M. CT, it will be the Girls Consolation Game #3 seed from the West, Paxton versus #2 seed Alma.
At 3:45 P.M. CT, it will be the Boys Consolation Game #4 seed from the West Paxton versus #2 seed from the East Bertrand.
At 5:30 P.M. CT, it will be the Girls Championship game with #1 seed from the West Maywood-Hayes Center versus #1 seed from the East Southwest.
Then at 7:15 P.M. CT, it will be the Boys Championship game with the #2 seed from the West Dundy County Stratton and #1 seed from the East Alma.
The games will be played at the Graff Events Center at Mid-Plains Community College in McCook. Be sure to watch for updates on social media as the games progress.
