Preview: Papillion-LaVista South Titans vs. Millard North Mustangs
Papillion-LaVista South is 1-9 against Millard North since February of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Papillion-LaVista South Titans will head out on the road to face off against the Millard North Mustangs at 7:15 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Papillion-LaVista South's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their fourth straight loss. They ended up on the wrong side of a rough 76-55 walloping at the hands of Gretna. Papillion-LaVista South has not had much luck with Gretna recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Despite the defeat, Papillion-LaVista South had strong showings from Bryson Bahl, who scored 16 points along with six rebounds, and Wes Frost, who scored 20 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Frost has scored all season.
Meanwhile, Millard North faced Omaha Westside in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Everything went Millard North's way against Omaha Westside on Tuesday as Millard North made off with a 76-56 win. Millard North has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matchups by 20 points or more this season.
Millard North's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Derek Rollins, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Elijah Gaeth, who scored 29 points along with two steals. Gaeth has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Neal Mosser, who scored 12 points along with two steals.
Papillion-LaVista South has not been sharp recently, as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-5 record this season. As for Millard North, their victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-2.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's game: Papillion-LaVista South have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 9.1 threes per game. However, it's not like Millard North struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.8 threes per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Papillion-LaVista South and Millard North were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, but Papillion-LaVista South came up empty-handed after a 52-51 loss. Can Papillion-LaVista South avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
