Basketball Recap: Lincoln Southwest Piles Up the Points Against Norfolk

Lincoln Southwest won the last time they faced Norfolk and things went their way on Friday too. The Lincoln Southwest Silver Hawks breezed by the Norfolk Panthers to the tune of 79-49. Given the Silver Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while the Panthers are ranked 167th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Lincoln Southwest's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jaxyn Cruse led the charge by going 10 of 17 on his way to 22 points in addition to six assists and four steals. The dominant performance gave Cruse a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Makkiah Sanders, who went 6 for 8 on his way to 16 points and three steals.

Norfolk's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Alex Makshantsev, who posted nine points and six rebounds. Landon Viergutz was another key player, putting up 12 points.

The victory made it two in a row for Lincoln Southwest and bumps their season record up to 4-1. As for Norfolk, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-4.

Lincoln Southwest will be playing in front of their home fans against Columbus at 6:45 p.m. on December 28th. Columbus is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.8 points per game this season. As for Norfolk, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next matchup, a 68-47 win against North Platte on the 21st.