The second week of the basketball season has wrapped up, and there were a number of good games. A good chunk of RPAC teams battled in the Cattle Trail Tournament too.
Let's dive into the blog.
Alma
Alma had three games this week and won two of them. First, they faced Elm Creek on Tuesday and lost 45-38. Alma found themselves in a big hole after the first quarter, down 11-2. They crawled back, but could not complete the comeback. Isaiah Neal led Alma with 14 points. Zavier Mitchell had 10 points and six rebounds.
Alma then played Blue Hill on Thursday and won 49-36. Mitchell led the scoring with 14 points and 13 rebounds. He also had four assists. Tucker Biskup added 12 points. Titus Epp and Grady Faimon had eight, Neal scored seven.
To round out the week, Alma beat Wilcox-Hildreth on Friday, 60-21. Mitchell had a big game; 27 points and nine rebounds. Biskup had 14 points and seven steals. Faimon scored 11.
Alma is 4-1 and will play at Southwest on Tuesday and at home against Red Cloud on Saturday before the Holiday Break.
Arapahoe
Arapahoe competed in the Cattle Trail Tournament this week and dropped all three of their games. First, they fell to Southwest, 49-37. Alex Diaz had 11 points to lead Arapahoe. He also had five rebounds. William Cacy had six points and 12 rebounds, and Grayson Koller scored seven points and eight rebounds. Gage Gooden and Eli Shafer each had five points.
Arapahoe then faced Maywood-Hayes Center and lost 45-29. Cacy led Arapahoe with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
In their final game of the tournament, the Warriors played Wauneta-Palisade. They lost in a close one, 47-46. Cacy had another big game with 20 points and four rebounds. Koller had eight points and 10 rebounds.
Arapahoe is 0-5 and will play Northern Valley on Tuesday and Wilcox-Hildreth on Thursday, both at home and at Southwest on Friday. That game versus Southwest will be an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup.
Bertrand
The Vikings had two games this week and won both. They beat Pleasanton on Friday at home, 67-46. On Saturday, they hosted their rival Loomis and won 62-60.
Bertrand moves to 3-1 and will play Hi-Line on the road on Tuesday, at Elm Creek on Friday, and at Blue Hill on Saturday before the Holiday Break.
Cambridge
The Trojans had two games during the week and split the matchups. On Tuesday, they played their rival Southern Valley and won big at home, 69-41. The Trojans had four players in double-figures, with Hodge Raburn scoring 22 points and grabbing eight boards, Brady Ahlemeyer having 16 points and 10 rebounds, Krayton Ruggles having 13 points and six assists, and Maverick Webb having 10 points and eight assists.
Cambridge then hosted South Loup and lost 62-48. The third quarter was tough for the Trojans, allowing 17 points while scoring seven. Krayton Ruggles had 19 points and Hodge Raburn scored 12 points and had nine rebounds.
Cambridge is 1-3 and will face Loomis on the road on Tuesday and then host Cozad on Thursday before Christmas Break.
Dundy County Stratton
Dundy County Stratton had a busy and successful week as they competed in the Cattle Trail Tournament in McCook. They began with a 69-37 win on Tuesday over Wauneta-Palisade. The Tigers scored 24 points in the first quarter while holding the Broncos to five. The Tigers got a big game out of Lane Bybee with 25 points and nine rebounds. Ethan Latta had 15 points and six assists, and August Shaw had 12.
In the next tournament round, they played Decatur Community and won 59-33. They led 13-12 after the first quarter did DCS, but then outscored the Red Devils 46-21.
Latta had 19 points, seven rebounds, and five steals. Bybee had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
In the championship game of the Cattle Trail Tournament on Friday, they beat Medicine Valley 59-44. The Tigers used a steady dose of offense and played solid defense to secure the win. Ethan Latta had 17 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. Bybee had 15 points and seven rebounds. August Shaw added 14 points and five boards. Breck Horner had nine points and eight boards, Dante Horner had four points and five assists.
The Tigers are now 5-0 and will play Wauneta-Palisade on Tuesday at home, which is an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup. Then, on Saturday, they will host Perkins County.
Hi-Line
This week Hi-Line went 2-1. Their first two games of the week were wins over Maxwell, 59-54, and then Southern Valley on Thursday, 55-50. Both of those were RPAC Rundown Featured Matchups and you can read about the Maxwell game here and the Southern Valley game here.
Hi-Line then had to face a tough opponent on Saturday, Gothenburg. They lost 54-19. Hi-Line is now 3-2 and will play Bertrand on Tuesday at home, Franklin at home on Thursday, and at home versus Gibbon on Saturday.
Hitchcock County
The Falcons played in the Cattle Trail Tournament this week too. They began with a game against Decatur Community on Tuesday and fell 62-43.
The Falcons faced Wauneta-Palisade in the next round on Friday and won 46-32. It was tight after the first three quarters, 35-30 in favor of the Falcons. But, an 11-2 final period was key for the Falcons to secure the win.
Hitchcock County faced Maywood-Hayes Center on Saturday in a consolation game and won 40-32.
The Falcons are now 3-1 and will play Medicine Valley on Thursday at home, which is an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup, and Rawlins County on Friday on the road.
Maywood-Hayes Center
Maywood-Hayes Center battled in the Cattle Trail Tournament and went 1-2 on the week. They started with a loss to Medicine Valley on Tuesday, 52-43. Maywood-Hayes Center led 10-5 after the first quarter. After that, Medicine Valley outscored the Wolves 47-33 to get the win.
Keenan Richards had 21 points and 15 rebounds to lead Maywood-Hayes Center.
The Wolves bounced back and beat Arapahoe 45-29. Jaxson Anders scored 19 points to lead MHC; Kade Broz had 12 rebounds for the Wolves.
MHC then played against Hitchcock County and fell 40-32. Richards and Kody Schwenk each had nine points in the game. Richards had 10 rebounds too. The Wolves are 3-2 and will play Sutherland at home on Tuesday in Maywood and then at Brady on Thursday.
Maxwell
Maxwell had two games this week and dropped both of them. They fell in a close one against Hi-Line on Tuesday, 59-54. That was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup, and you can read about that game here.
Maxwell then faced St. Pat's on Thursday and lost 79-43. Maxwell is 0-4 and will play Paxton on Friday before the Holiday Break.
Medicine Valley
How about those Raiders? They had a 2nd place finish in the Cattle Trail Tournament and played some great basketball. First, they beat Maywood-Hayes Center 52-43. Maywood-Hayes Center led 10-5 after the first quarter. After that, Medicine Valley outscored the Wolves 47-33 to get the win.
Brody Senff had 13 points, and Mason Roblee had 12. Senff grabbed 10 rebounds, and Roblee had nine.
The Raiders then followed that win up with a victory over Southwest 63-37. Senff went off for 26 points and 14 rebounds. It was another outstanding performance for Senff and the Raiders. Roblee had nine rebounds.
In the championship game, the Raiders faced top-10-rated Dundy County Stratton. Medicine Valley did an excellent job playing with the Tigers but eventually fell 59-44. Ethan BRown led the scoring for Medicine Valley with 12 points.
Medicine Valley is now 3-2 and will play Thursday on the road against Hitchcock County, which is an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup. Then, on Friday, they play South Loup before the Holiday Break.
Paxton
The Paxton Tigers' record remains unblemished. They had two more games this past week and won them both. First, they dominated Brady 72-31. Tanner Hebblethwaite had a big game with 25 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists. Noah Coppersmith had 12 points.
The Tigers then played Potter-Dix and won 59-36. Paxton scored 53 of their 59 points in the first three quarters. Hebblethwaite had 29 points and seven rebounds. Maddex Mcconnell had 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Tigers are 4-0 and will play Perkins County on Tuesday at home and at home on Thursday against Maxwell.
Southern Valley
The Eagles played three games this week and dropped each game. On Tuesday they played at home versus Cambridge and lost 69-41. Isaac Hamilton led the Eagles in scoring with 13 points.
The Eagles were at home again on Thursday as they faced Hi-Line. They dropped the game 55-50. This was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup and you can red about the game story here.
Southern Valley faced Overton on Saturday and lost 54-36. Hamilton led Southern Valley with 11 points.
The Eagles are 0-5 and will play Norton at home on Tuesday, on the road on Thursday at Ravenna, and Loomis at home on Saturday.
Southwest
The Roughriders played in the Cattle Trail Tournament this past week and went 1-2. They initially beat Arapahoe 49-37 on Tuesday. The Roughriders outscored the Warriors 29-17 en route to their victory. Houston Billeter had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead Southwest. Trenton Williams had eight points, four rebounds, and four steals. Deric Kelley did play and had six points and seven rebounds.
The Warriors fell to Medicine Valley in the next round, 63-37. That game was played on Friday.
On Saturday, in a consolation matchup, the Roughriders played Decatur Community. They lost 57-42.
Southwest is now 1-4 and will be at home twice this week; Tuesday against Alma, and Friday against Arapahoe. Their matchup against Arapahoe is an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup.
Sutherland
Sutherland had two games this week and went 1-1. First, they beat Brady in overtime 56-49. It was 49-49 after regulation, but a seven-point overtime period by the sailors helped them secure the win. Mason Mortimer was on a mission with 24 points. Ethan Holm and Easton Smith each had 10 points.
Sutherland then faced Sandhills Valley. They dropped the game 28-27. Sutherland is 1-3 and will be at Maywood-Hayes Center on Tuesday, home versus Wallace on Thursday, and then host Elba on Saturday.
Wallace
The Wallace Wildcats played a pair of opponents last week. First, they played Sandhills/Thedford on Thursday and lost a close one, 55-47. On Saturday, they played Hyannis. The Wildcats won 52-47.
This week Wallace will play Sutherland on Thursday and Potter-Dix on Saturday, both on the road. their current record is 3-2.
Wauneta-Palisade
The Broncos competed in the Cattle Trail Tournament. They played Dundy County Stratton on Tuesday and lost 69-37. The Tigers scored 24 points in the first quarter while holding the Broncos to five. The Broncos could not recover. Grayden Sutherland and Kaden Dorn each scored nine points. Aden Acton had nine rebounds.
Wauneta-Palisade then faced Hitchcock County and lost 46-32 in the next round. It was tight after the first three quarters, 35-30 in favor of the Falcons. But, an 11-2 final period was key for the Falcons to secure the win.
Ashton Wheeler had 14 points to lead Wauneta-Palisade. Acton again had a nice game on the glass with nine rebounds.
In the consolation game, Wauneta-Palisade played Arapahoe and won in a close one, 47-46. Arapahoe made a comeback effort as they outscored the Broncos 14-8 in the fourth, but the Broncos held on. Wheller had 19 points and eight rebounds, and Nathan Hiett had 12.
The Broncos are 1-4 and will face DCS on Tuesday, an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup, and South Platte on Friday. Both games are on the road.
