Gretna got a double-double from their returning big man in a comfortable 59-43 win over Omaha Westside on Thursday, Jan. 12 ahead of a test against Bellevue West.
Jeff Rozelle returned to the lineup with a double-double – 13 points, 11 rebounds – and the No. 2 Dragons were led in scoring by Alex Wilcoxson and Landon Pokorski with 16 points each.
Winning each quarter, Grenta relied on their shooting – 52 percent on field goals – and held the Warriors to just 31 points after the first quarter.
A stretch that keeps getting tougher gets toughest at No. 23 team in the nation, Nebraska Class A No. 1 Bellevue West on Thursday.
Omaha Westside (9-3) 12 9 11 11 – 43
Gretna (10-1) 18 12 15 14 – 59
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Girls
Omaha Westside (3-9) 7 10 4 11 – 32
Gretna (6-5) 12 4 10 13 – 39
The Dragons bounced back from a tough loss to Omaha Central on Saturday, Jan. 7 with a defensive clinic against the Warriors.
Forcing 15 turnovers, Gretna was disruptive throughout the game – especially in the third quarter – and Aidan Pohlmann (11 points) and Brooke Rose (10) were both in double figures scoring.
Weekly scoreboard
Girls
Tuesday 10
Millard West (7-3) 5 10 9 13 – 37
Bellevue West (12-1) 12 8 8 11 – 39
The Thunderbirds jumped ahead with a solid first quarter, but the Wildcats fought back, led by 14 points from Norah Gessert. TBird junior Ahnica Russell-Brown led the way with 13 points and seven rebounds, while junior Dani Coyer added seven points and nine rebounds in a hard-fought win.
Grand Island (0-11) 3 3 6 0 – 12
Papillion-La Vista (5-6) 23 15 16 8 – 62
Still without a win, the Islanders were thoroughly dominated by the Monarchs, who ran ahead with a 20-point lead after the first quarter. Rease Murtaugh scored 15 points and Brooklyn Holloway added 11 as Papio won their third in four games.
Papillion-La Vista South (6-5) – 28
Lincoln Northeast (9-4) – 61
The Titans lost their fourth in six games with an uninspired performance against the Rockets.
Ashland-Greenwood (3-8) 7 6 7 10—30
Platteview (6-5) 7 7 9 15—38
The Platteview girls won over the Bluejays, 38-30, for their third straight victory.
Lilly Stobbe and Emily Wiebelhaus scored 11 points each, while Baylee Tex added 10.
A fourth quarter surge pulled the Trojans ahead.
Thursday 12
Bellevue West (12-2) 11 16 26 38 — 91
Millard South (12-2) 12 22 29 30 — 93
The TBirds and Patriots faced off in a rematch of the Metro Holiday Tournament final, won 55-53 by Bellevue West.
Ahnica Russell-Brown and Naomi White teamed up for 55 points combined as the TBirds put up 64 in the second half.
But the rally wasn’t quite enough as the Patriots won the second-highest scoring game in Nebraska girls basketball history, and the highest in a regulation game.
Papillion-La Vista (5-7) 8 12 18 10 – 48
Omaha Marian (5-6) 13 6 15 18 – 54
The Monarchs answered a strong first quarter by the Crusaders with defense, limiting the hosts in the second.
With a one-point lead at the break, Papio had a big third quarter but Marian held serve to go into the fourth down four.
Marian turned up the heat with a 11-2 rally to flip the five-point deficit into a four-point lead, which they were able to maintain in spite of 16 points from Rease Murtaugh and 19 combined from Brooklyn Holloway and Taliyah Jackson.
Omaha Mercy (3-7) 9 15 10 18 – 52
Omaha Gross (1-11) 6 11 14 14 – 45
The Cougars were even with the Monarchs in the second half, but couldn’t overcome a slow start on offense as they dropped their second straight.
Friday 13
Wahoo (10-2) 18 9 10 10 – 47
Platteview (6-6) 3 5 10 2 – 20
The Trojans were shut down for much of the first half and couldn’t get much going in a big home defeat. Sammy Leu scored 19 for Wahoo.
Omaha Duchesne (7-3) 20 10 17 5 – 52
Omaha Gross (1-12) 5 3 5 4 – 17
Offense was hard to come by for the Cougars, whose struggles continued.
Saturday 14
Grand Island (0-13) – 11
Bellevue East (9-2) – 66
The Chieftains dominated the Islanders for their second straight win, both by 30+.
Bellevue West (13-2) 14 13 14 18 – 59
Kearney (8-7) 16 15 14 13 – 58
The Thunderbirds rallied for one-point win on the road against the Bearcats, led by Tatum Rusher with 19 points.
Naomi White poured in 22 points – including a game-winning layup with 10 seconds left – and eight rebounds for Bellevue West, while Ahnica Russell-Brown scored 16.
Norfolk (1-11) 25 11 12 17 – 65
Papillion-La Vista (6-7) 17 20 18 21 – 76
Panthers got out to a mercurial start but went tepid in the middle quarters of the game, and the Monarchs capitalized to bounce back from a loss to Marian on Thursday.
Platteview (6-7) 13 13 12 5 – 43
Yutan (11-2) 12 16 17 16 – 61
Trojans dropped their second straight after three wins in a row, scoring just five in the fourth quarter.
Boys
Tuesday 10
Millard West (3-8) 1 20 8 13 – 42
Bellevue West (13-0) 21 24 11 14 – 70
Lockdown defense allowed the national No. 23 Thunderbirds to build a 20-point lead and hold the Wildcats to just one point. Piling up nine steals and forcing 14 turnovers, Bellevue West had pretty much put the game away by halftime.
Jaxon Stueve led with 16 points – 4-for-7 from three – and Jaden Jackson and Robby Garcia scored 12 points each, with Garcia grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Creighton commit Josiah Dotzler had an 8-6-5 line (points-assists-rebounds).
Grand Island (2-9) 8 11 13 13 – 45
Papillion-La Vista (4-8) 15 10 10 14 – 49
The Monarchs won their second straight by a narrow margin as a strong first quarter gave them the room they needed. Chase Williams (12 points), Brock Rahl (11) and Eric Ingwerson (10) all scored in double figures, and Papio forced 17 turnovers and held the Islanders to 30 percent shooting.
Papillion-La Vista South (6-5) 16 8 9 14 – 47
Lincoln Northeast (9-4) 14 21 15 17 – 67
19 points from Bryson Bahl weren’t enough as the Rockets, led by Christian Winn with 17, pulled away in the middle of the game with big second and third quarters.
Thursday 12
Bellevue West (14-0) 16 16 12 21 – 65
Millard South (3-8) 10 9 8 17– 44
Over the second and third quarters, the Thunderbirds outscored the Patriots 28-17 to pull away.
Josiah Dotzler poured in 20 points and got it done on the defensive end as well with three steals.
Bellevue West has a big test up next: home against Gretna (10-1) on Thursday, Jan. 19.
Friday 13
Papillion-La Vista (4-9) 6 12 11 8 – 37
Creighton Prep (9-4) 18 20 18 20 – 76
The Monarchs couldn’t control the Junior Jays’ offense, led by Trinell Parker with 18 points.
Omaha Gross (5-6) 10 9 7 4 – 30
Omaha Skutt (9-0) 8:15 25 16 – 64
Competitive in the first half with good defense and adequate defense, the Cougars’ went cold in the second half and were put away by a big third quarter for the undefeated SkyHawks.
Wahoo (10-1) 17 18 21 22 – 78
Platteview (11-1) 10 9 18 9 – 46
The Trojans suffered their first defeat Friday night as the normally high-powered offense was tamed by the Warriors’ defense. Connor Millikan poured in 21, but Wahoo pulled ahead 35-19 at the half and ran away in the fourth.
Saturday 14
Norfolk (2-8) 16 10 7 18 – 51
Papillion-La Vista (5-9) 14 18 10 18 – 60
A big second quarter pulled the Monarchs ahead for their third win out of four.
Platteview (12-1) 10 17 12 16 – 55
Yutan (7-5) 11 16 12 7 – 46
The Trojans rebounded from their first loss of the season with a big win on the road, limiting the Chieftains to just 19 second-half points.
Kearney (10-4) – 1 5 16 24 21 – 76
Omaha Bryan (5-6) 16 10 22 21 – 69
A’mare Bynum led with 17 points, and Amir Martin (16) Mat Tut (13) and Elijah Mccullough (12) all reached double figures, but the Bears couldn’t quite claw back from a five-point halftime deficit.
Grand Island (2-10) – 51
Bellevue East (5-9) – 55
Jacobi Adams (13 points, 8 rebounds) nearly had a double-double as the Chieftains held off a late rally.
Omaha Gross (5-7) 9 14 10 17 – 50
Elkhorn (6-6) 19 18 18 13 – 68
A slow start gave the Cougars a mountain they couldn’t climb as the Antlers charged ahead 37-23 at halftime.
