Holiday Hoops are always a fun time. Your team is beginning to play good basketball; family is in town for a couple of games. Let's dive into this week's Boys Basketball Blog.
Alma
The Cardinals had two games last week before the Holiday break and went 2-0. On Tuesday, they went to Bartley to play Southwest. They won big, 63-33. Four Cardinals were in double-figures as Tucker Biskup had 16 points, eight rebounds, five steals, and five assists; Isaiah Neal had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals; Zavier Mitchell had 12 points and four boards; and Titus Epp had 10 points and three assists.
Alma then played Red Cloud on Saturday and won big again, this time 61-33. Once again, the Cardinals had excellent offensive output during the victory.
Alma is now 6-1 and will play at Medicine Valley on January 3rd and at home on January 4th versus Superior.
Arapahoe
It was a busy week of hoops for Arapahoe, with three games. For the Warriors, they dropped all three of them. First, they fell to Northern Valley, KS on Tuesday, 53-29. Eli Shafer led the scoring with 13 points and five rebounds. Gage Gooden had five points and nine rebounds. Chris Hermes had eight points. Alex Diaz had seven rebounds.
Then, they played Wilcox-Hildreth on Thursday and lost 62-55. The Warriors had three players in double figures as Chris Hermes had 14 points, Gage Gooden had 14, and Eli Shafer had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
In their final game of the week, Arapahoe played Southwest, which was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup. They lost, and you can read the full game story here.
Arapahoe is now 0-8 and will play again on December 27th against Franklin in the first round of the Bob Braithwait Holiday Tournament in Arapahoe.
Bertrand
The Vikings were busy this week with three games, and they went 2-1. First, they beat Hi-Line in a close one, 45-43. Freshman Hunter Nelson had 16 points to lead Bertrand. Thunder Nelson scored 11. Marcus Hernandez controlled the glass with 15 points. This also was Head Coach Craig Newcomb's 300th career win.
The Vikings then played Elm Creek on Friday and lost 58-50. Hernandez led Bertrand with 21 points and nine rebounds. He also tallied seven steals and three blocks. Thunder Nelson had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Bertrand faced Blue Hill on Saturday and bounced back nicely with a 49-39 win.
Bertrand is now 5-2 and will resume action on December 30th and 31st when they play Gibbon at the Elm Creek Holiday Tournament.
Cambridge
The Trojans had two opponents this week, one on Tuesday at Loomis and then at home Thursday against top-10 rated in C1, Cozad. The Trojans fell to Loomis by a final score of 60-42.
Hodge Raburn led the Trojans with 16 points and six rebounds. Krayton Ruggles added 10 points, and Brady Ahlemeyer had eight rebounds.
Against Cozad, Cambridge fell 79-38. Maverick Webb was the high-point man for the Trojans with 11 points on 4-7 shooting. Ahlmeyer had eight, Raburn seven, and Ruggles had six.
Cambridge is now 1-5 and will play Pleasanton in the first round of the Bulldogs Holiday Tournament on December 27th, and the tournament will continue through the 28th.
Dundy County Stratton
The Tigers suffered their first loss of the season but also collected a win. First, they played Wauneta-Palisade and won big, 70-23. That was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup, and you can read the game story here.
The Tigers faced Perkins County on Saturday and lost 66-45. August Shaw had 16 points, Ethan Latta had 10 points and eight rebounds, and Lane Bybee had six points and eight rebounds.
DCS is now 6-1 and will resume action on December 27th and 28th at the Axtell Holiday Tournament.
Hi-Line
The Hi-Line Bulls had three games this past week, going 1-2. First, they fell to Bertrand in a close one, 45-43. Both Zach Whittaker and Brody Diefenbaugh scored 14 in the effort.
Then, they played against Franklin and won a low-scoring affair, 36-21. Whittaker led the offensive attack with 20 points in the win.
Then Hi-Line fell to Gibbon, 57-43. Whittaker had 14 points, Diefenbaugh added seven, and Judah Niemeier had six.
Hi-Line is 4-4 and will play Lawrence-Nelson in Eustis on December 27th.
Hitchcock County
The Falcons had two games this week and won both of them. First, they played Medicine Valley and won 55-26. That was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup, so you can read the full game story here.
Then, they played Rawlins County and won 57-34. The Falcons go to the holiday break with a 5-1 record. They will play Southwest on January 7th at hom and then go to Wauneya-Palisade on January 10th.
Maywood-Hayes Center
The Wolves had two games and ended up winning both, which bolstered their record ahead of the holiday break. First, they beat Sutherland on Tuesday, 62-20. Kade Broz led the scoring for MHC with 13 points. The Wolves shot 45% from three-point range, and 56% from the field to get the win.
Then, the Wolves beat Brady 79-40. They didn't shoot as well at 42%, but they got up nearly 70 shots, resulting in many buckets. They made 11 three-pointers. Grady Erickson had 15 points, Broz had 12, Sawyer Dibbern had 11, and Keenan Richards scored 10.
The Wolves improve to 5-2 and will play Paxton on December 28th. That is part of a Holiday Tournament Paxton is hosting.
Maxwell
The Wildcats had one game last week, and it was at Paxton on Friday. Maxwell dropped the game, 60-33. Maxwell is now 0-5 and will play Sandhills Valley on December 27th, a Holiday Tournament hosted by the Wildcats.
Medicine Valley
The Raiders had two games this week and fell in both of them. First, they dropped a game on Thursday against Hitchcock County. That was an RPAC Rundown Featured matchup. You can read that full game story here.
The Raiders played South Loup on Friday and lost a close one, 66-62. The Raiders trailed 52-40 heading to the fourth. They scored 22 points in the final quarter to make things interesting.
Medicine Valley is 3-4 and will host Alma on January 3rd.
Paxton
Paxton had two games this past week and split the games. First, they fell to a very good Perkins County team, 65-54. Falling behind 21-12 in the first quarter set the Tigers behind, and they tried to make a comeback but fell just short.
Tanner Hebblethwaite had 29 points on 12-18 shooting. He had six rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
Paxton bounced back and beat Maxwell 60-33. Maddex McConnell had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Hebblethwaite had 10 points and 15 rebounds, and Jasper Brewster had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Three players with double-doubles? Maybe Stat of the Week worthy!
Paxton is now 5-1 and will play against Maywood-Hayes Center on December 28th at their own Holiday Tournament.
Southern Valley
The Eagles had three games before the Holiday Break and went 1-2. First, they fell to Norton, 62-48. The Eagles and Bluejays were tied after the first quarter, 15-15, but Norton outscored Southern Valley 47-33 in the next three quarters to get the win.
Next, they played Ravenna and lost 53-42. Again, the Eagles played pretty well and even led at halftime 25-22.
Southern Valley hosted Loomis on Saturday, and it took overtime, but the Eagles got the win 72-66.
The Eagles are now 1-7 and will compete in the Bob Braithwait Holiday Tournament on December 27th and 28th. They open with Blue Hill.
Southwest
The Roughriders had a pair of games this past week and went 1-1. First, they hosted Alma on Tuesday and lost 63-33. Houston Billeter had a nice game with 20 points. Deric Kelley had six points and 10 rebounds.
The Roughriders bounced back nicely and beat Arapahoe at home, 58-33. That was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup, and you can read the full game story here.
Southwest is 2-5 at the break; they will host Franklin on January 3rd and then go to Southern Valley on January 4th.
Sutherland
The Sailors had three games this past week before the Holiday Break. On Tuesday, they fell to Maywood-Hayes Center 62-20. The Sailors then faced Wallace and lost 46-19.
Sutherland then played Elba on Saturday. The Sailors won, 53-14.
The Sailors will be back in action at home on January 7th against Hyannis.
Wallace
The Wallace Wildcats had two games this week and won both. First, they beat Sutherland 46-19. Wallace then played Potter-Dix and won 55-48.
Wallace has to feel good going into the break at 5-2 and will play in the Perkins County Holiday Tournament on December 31st.
Wauneta-Palisade
Wauneta-Palisade had two games this week and ended up losing both. First, they fell to Dundy County Stratton, 70-23. That was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup, and you can read the game story here.
Then, they played South Platte and fell 71-47. Ashton Wheeler had 16 points. Aden Acton had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Broncos are now 1-6 and will play at Cheylin, KS, on January 7th, at home on January 10th against Hitchcock County, and then at Southwest on January 11th.
