Basketball Recap: Gordon-Rushville Comes Up Short

Gordon-Rushville was the 46-30 winner over Valentine when they last played one another back in February of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. The Gordon-Rushville Mustangs were outmatched by Valentine and fell 80-43. While losing is never fun, the Mustangs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 249th, while Valentine are ranked 106th).

When it comes to explaining why Gordon-Rushville lost on Friday, don't look at Daniel Martins. Despite the final result, he went 10-for-17 to rack up 22 points and eight rebounds. Brody Popken was another key player, putting up nine points.

Valentine got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Isaac Cronin out in front who went 8-for-12 on his way to 17 points in addition to eight boards and six blocks. With that strong performance, Cronin is now averaging an impressive 15.1 points per game. Another player making a difference was Dominic Beebout, who posted 11 points along with seven rebounds and six assists.

Gordon-Rushville has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 6-16 record this season. The win (which was Valentine's fourth in a row) raised their record to 12-10.

Coming up, Gordon-Rushville is taking a road trip to face off against Morrill at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Gordon-Rushville is facing Morrill at the right time seeing as Morrill is stuck on a four-game losing streak. As for Valentine, they will face off against Chadron at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Chadron has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.