Basketball Recap: Dalton Pokorney and Nixon Thelen Secure Win for Shelby-Rising City

It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Shelby-Rising City ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They managed a 59-55 win over the East Butler Tigers. That result was just more of the same for these two, as the Huskies also won the last time the pair played back in February of 2024.

Dalton Pokorney

Blocked Shots

02/21/25 vs East Butler	4
02/14/25 vs Osceola	2
02/11/25 @ Thayer Central	3
02/07/25 vs Bruning-Davenport/Shickley	2
02/04/25 @ Nebraska Christian	2
+ 6 more games

Leading Shelby-Rising City to victory were Nixon Thelen and Dalton Pokorney. Thelen went 11-for-17 from beyond the arc to rack up 36 points, while Pokorney dropped a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Pokorney has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more blocks the last 11 times he's played. Noah Thelen was another key player, putting up three points in addition to six assists and three steals.

Shelby-Rising City's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-11. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.3 points over those games. As for East Butler, their loss dropped their record down to 19-4.

Looking ahead, Shelby-Rising City will face off against Cornerstone Christian School at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. East Butler does not have any more games scheduled as of now.