Basketball Game Preview: Grand Island Islanders vs. Lincoln North Star Navigators

Having just played yesterday, the Grand Island Islanders will head out on the road to face off against the Lincoln North Star Navigators at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Grand Island will bounce into Wednesday's game after beating Lincoln East, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Grand Island skirted past Lincoln East 57-55. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Islanders have posted since December 7, 2024.

Meanwhile, Lincoln North Star entered their tilt with Omaha North on Friday with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They took down the Vikings 75-61. Given the Navigators' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 11th, while the Vikings are ranked 119th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Grand Island better focus on containing Jordan Castor and William Schafer as the pair were huge in Lincoln North Star's win. Castor posted 20 points in addition to six assists and five rebounds, while Schafer went 5 of 10 on his way to 16 points and three steals. Schafer continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Rieal Acin was another key player, putting up ten points.

Grand Island's record now sits at 7-9. As for Lincoln North Star, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-3 record this season.

Grand Island was taken down by Lincoln North Star 72-34 when the teams last played back in December of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Castor, who earned 21 points along with six boards and three steals. Now that Grand Island knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.