So it begins. The Boys Basketball season is underway and all of the teams in the conference had matchups this past week. Let's take a look at how the conference fared.
Alma
The Cardinals have started the season at 2-0. Alma hasn't gotten much recognition across the state, but this team may be a force in C2. On Thursday, they were at Bertrand, and that was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup. They won 54-31. You can read the full story here.
On Friday, they hosted Kenesaw. This game went down to the wire, but Alma won 47-45. The game was tied at 24-24 at halftime, but Alma outscored the Blue Devils 23-21 to escape with a win.
Tucker Biskup had 16 points, Zavier Mitchell had 10, Titus Epp had nine, and Isaiah Neal scored six. Biskup added seven rebounds. Grady Faimon had five steals.
Alma will face Elm Creek on Tuesday on the road and then back-to-back games at home versus Blue Hill and Wilcox-Hildreth on Thursday and Friday.
Arapahoe
Arapahoe started the season with two games, one at Overton on Thursday and another at home against Lawerence-Nelson on Saturday. In their game against Overton, they lost 61-42. The Warriors led 14-13 after the first quarter.
The second quarter doomed Arapahoe as they were outscored 22-4.
Kade Fisher and Gage Gooden each had 10 points. Eli Shafer had six points and 10 rebounds. Gooden also had 12 rebounds. Will Cacy grabbed 11 rebounds. Alex Diaz had seven points and five steals.
In their game against Lawerence-Nelson, the Warriors dropped a low-scoring affair, 39-25. Arapahoe could not score in double figures in any quarter of the game. Will Cacy led Arapahoe with a double-double scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Kade Fisher had six points, and Eli Shafer had five. Grayson Koller nabbed nine rebounds.
Arapahoe is now 0-2 and will face Southwest in the first round of the Cattle Trail Tournament on Tuesday.
Bertrand
Bertrand had two games to begin the season and split the contests. First, they played Alma, which was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup. They dropped the game 54-31. You can read the full story here.
Bertrand bounced back nicely, winning 49-42 at Axtell on Friday. Bertrand had a monster first and fourth quarters scoring 34 of those points in those periods.
Bertrand is 1-1 and will face Pleasanton at home on Friday and then Loomis at home on Saturday.
Cambridge
The Trojans had a pair of tough opponents to start the season. First, they dropped a close one to Hitchcock County, 58-55. Cambridge had a big-time game out of Brady Ahlmeyer. He scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Krayton Ruggles had 10 points and five assists. Hidge Raburn had seven, and Braxton Mitchell and Maverick Webb each scored six.
Cambridge then faced a top-10 team in D1, Dundy County Stratton. Cambridge lost 65-30. This was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup; you can read the full story here.
Cambridge is 0-2 and will play at Southern Valley on Tuesday and home against South Loup on Friday.
Dundy County Stratton
Top-10-rated Dundy County Stratton started their season on Friday and Saturday and went 2-0. First, they beat Cambridge 65-30. This was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup; you can read the full story here.
On Saturday, the Tigers won big again, this time over Creek Valley 70-28.
The Tigers are 2-0 and will play Wauneta-Palisade in the first round on Tuesday.
Hi-Line
Hi-Line started their season on Thursday and Friday. They started the season with a big win over Wilcox-Hildreth, 68-19. The Bulls scored at least 15 points in each quarter of the game, so the offense was clicking, to say the least.
The Bulls then played Ansley-Litchfield, a team regarded as one of the best in D2. Hi-Line fell by a narrow margin, 61-58.
The Bulls are 1-1 and will face Maxwell on Tuesday at home, at Southern Valley on Thursday, and then at home versus Gothenburg on Saturday.
Their games on Tuesday and Thursday will be RPAC Rundown Featured Matchups.
Hitchcock County
The Falcons had one game to start their season, and it was on the road last Thursday against Cambridge. They won the close matchup 58-55. The Falcons will look to keep things rolling in the Cattle Trail Tournament on Tuesday when they play against Decatur Community.
Maywood-Hayes Center
The Wolves have started strong once again this season as they played Wallace and Southwest, winning both games. Against Wallace, they won by a final score of 70-48. Wallace hung around in the first half, trailing 37-28 after the first two periods. In the second half, the Wolves outscored the Wildcats 33-20 to capture the win.
Jaxson Anders had 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, and six steals in the win. Keenan Richards had 16 points and six boards.
On Saturday, they played Southwest and won 62-29. That was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup; read the full game story here.
The Wolves are 2-0 and will play Medicine Valley in Tuesday's first round of the Cattle Trail Tournament.
Maxwell
The Wildcats started the season with two solid opponents and dropped both games. First, they fell to Cozad 78-26. Cozad is a top-10 team in Class C1.
The Wildcats found themselves in trouble early, going down 27-7 in the first quarter. Following that, the Haymakers pushed forward and won big. Max Robinson led Maxwell with 10 points, and Jesse Reyes had 6.
The Wildcats then faced Sandhills-Thedford and lost 46-36.
Maxwell is 0-2 and will play Hi-Line on Tuesday in Eustis, which is an RPAC rundown Featured Matchup, and then St. Pat's at home on Thursday.
Medicine Valley
Medicine Valley had a pair of games this past week to open the year, and they went 1-1 in those efforts. First, they beat Southwest on Friday, 68-41. Ethan Brown was big, with 24 points and nine rebounds. Tyce Pate scored 13, and Brody Senff and Lucas Einspahr each scored 11. Mason Roblee added four points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
The Raiders then played Paxton and fell 57-29. Senff led the scoring with seven points, and Roblee, Kaleb Einspahr, and Lucas Einspahr each grabbed six rebounds.
The Raiders are 1-1 and will play Maywood-Hayes Center in the first round of the Cattle Trail Tournament.
Paxton
The Tigers have had a strong start to the season. They beat both of their opponents big, and their average margin of victory is 27.5 points. First, the Tigers beat Anselmo-Merna 46-19. The score was 8-6 after the first period. After that, they outscored the Coyotes 38-13.
Maddex McConnell had 11 points and seven rebounds. Tanner Hellethwaite had 10 points and seven rebounds. Griffin Perlinger had seven points.
Paxton then beat Medicine Valley 57-29. Paxton's defense was excellent, allowing double-figure scoring in only one quarter. McConnell had 11 again, and Hebblethwaite had 11 and eight rebounds. Ethan Hardin and Noah Coppersmith each had eight points.
Paxton is 2-0 and will play Brady on Friday and Potter-Dix on Saturday. Both games are on the road.
Southern Valley
The Eagles had two tough opponents to start the season and they dropped both games. Southern Valley first fell to Minden 70-33. Southern Valley was led by Isaac Hamilton's 12 points and six rebounds. Tylor Grove added 10 points and four rebounds.
Southern Valley then faced Elm Creek and lost 53-40.
The Eagles are 0-2 and will play at home versus Cambridge on Tuesday, at home Thursday against Hi-Line which is an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup, and then at Overton on Saturday.
Southwest
The Roughriders played Medicine Valley and Maywood-Hayes Center. They dropped both games. Against Medicine Valley they lost 68-41. Against Maywood-Hayes Center, they lost 62-29. That was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup; read the full game story here.
Southwest is now 0-2 and will play Arapahoe on Tuesday in the first round of the Cattle Trail Tournament.
Sutherland
The Sailors had two games to start the season and dropped them both. First, it was a close one to Mullen, 38-36. Then, Sutherland played St. Pat's, a tough team every season, and lost 57-12.
Sutherland is now 0-2 and will play Brady at home on Tuesday and then at Sandhills Valley on Thursday.
Wallace
Wallace had three games to begin the 2024-2025 season. First, they played Wauneta-Palisade and won 56-43. Following that game, the Wildcats played Maywood-Hayes Center and fell 70-48.
Wallace hung around in the first half, trailing 37-28 after the first two periods. In the second half, the Wolves outscored the Wildcats 33-20 to capture the win.
Wallace then played Elba on Saturday at North Platte Community College. Talk about a bounce-back win; they won 48-7 and dominated the game.
The Wildcats are 2-1 and will play at Sandhills-Thedford on Thursday and Hyannis on Saturday.
Wauneta-Palisade
The Broncos played two games in the opening week of the basketball season. They lost their matchup against Wallace, 56-43, and then played Creek Valley and lost 57-42.
The Broncos will be back in action on Tuesday against Dundy County Stratton in the Cattle Trail Tournament.
