It was an RPAC East battle Thursday night as the Vikings hit the road to play Southern Valley. The two schools split contests with the Southern Valley girls winning and the Bertrand boys taking their matchup.
In the girls' game, Southern Valley was the favorite as the #3 rated Eagles have taken care of business all season, and lately have been playing at a really high level. Bertrand couldn't keep up, falling 54-12.
In the opening quarter, the Vikings kept it close for the majority of the period. They tried to milk the clock, but eventually, Southern Valley took over. After one, it was 15-1. In the second quarter, it was similar, Bertrand did everything they could to stay with Southern Valley, but shots wouldn't fall. Southern Valley went to halftime leading 30-3.
In the second half, Southern Valley pressed forward, outscoring Bertrand 24-8. The Eagles held the Vikings without a field goal until the later stages of the fourth quarter.
For the Vikings, it was nothing to hang their heads about. They ran into one of the best teams in the state. Southern Valley, has to feel good about how they played as the games get more important at this point in the season.
Ann Bose led the way with 28 points for Southern Valley. The Eagles move on to 11-1 on the season and will play on Saturday in Kearney against Centennial in the Nebraska Girls Basketball Showcase. We caught up with Richard McDonald, Head Coach of the Eagles after the game. Catch his comments below.
Bertrand falls to 3-6 this season. Shelby Schoene had six to lead to Vikings. They will play South Loup at home on Saturday.
The boys' matchup was a very, very physical game with good action throughout. The Vikings prevailed over the Eagles, 49-38. As mentioned, there was a lot of good basketball in this one. The first quarter showed that as the teams were tied up at 10-10.
In the second quarter, a few turnovers and missed shots plagued the Eagles, and they fell behind going into the half, 21-17. The third period featured the Eagles climbing back, albeit it was a narrow margin to come back from, they trailed by one going into the final quarter 30-29.
In the final period, the Vikings got tough and got some shots to fall, scoring 18 points in the final quarter while holding the Eagles to eight.
It is worth noting, that the Eagles were without 17-point-per-game scorer Kamden Bose as he was playing in an All-Star Football game, and starting point guard Rian Grove was ill.
The Eagles are now 6-5 and will play Broken Bow on Saturday at Kearney High.
For Bertrand, they are now 4-5, winners of three in a row. They have South Loup on Saturday at home. We chatted with their leading scorer from Thursday night, Thunder Nelson with 15 points, about the victory.