Basketball Game Preview: Bertrand Vikings vs. South Loup

Bertrand hasn't had much luck against South Loup recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Bertrand Vikings will square off against South Loup at 7:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Bertrand sitting on three straight wins and South Loup on seven.

On Thursday, Bertrand humbled Southern Valley with a 60-33 victory. The Vikings have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matchups by 21 points or more this season.

Bertrand can attribute much of their success to Thunder Nelson, who went 10 for 21 on his way to 23 points in addition to seven boards and six steals, and Marcus Hernandez, who went 7 of 11 on his way to 15 points along with seven boards and five blocks. With that strong performance, Nelson is now averaging an impressive 2.2 steals per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Kayden Hatfield, who posted seven points in addition to six boards and four steals.

Bertrand smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive boards. That's the most offensive boards they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely South Loup's strategy against Sandhills/Thedford on Thursday. South Loup strolled past Sandhills/Thedford with points to spare, taking the game 47-32. Given South Loup's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 106th, while Sandhills/Thedford is ranked 240th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Bertrand's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-4. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 23.8 points. As for South Loup, they picked up their first home win, bumping their record up to 7-2.

Bertrand came up short against South Loup in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, falling 60-49. Can Bertrand avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.