Preview: Lincoln Southeast Knights vs. Bellevue West Thunderbirds
Lincoln Southeast has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Bellevue West Thunderbirds at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Lincoln Southeast put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season on Tuesday. They really took it to Norfolk for the full four quarters, racking up a 73-43 victory at home. Given Lincoln Southeast's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 30th, while the Panthers are ranked 183rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Lincoln Southeast got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Mike Ngoyi out in front who scored 15 points along with two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Taye Moore, who scored 11 points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Bellevue West came tearing into Saturday's match with 12 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 19.6 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against Kearney by a score of 74-63.
Bellevue West's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Robby Garcia, who scored 20 points along with five rebounds. Jaden Jackson was another key contributor, scoring 18 points.
Lincoln Southeast is on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 14 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 15-4 record this season. As for Bellevue West, their victory was their 14th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 15-1.
Saturday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Lincoln Southeast have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 47% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Bellevue West struggles in that department as they've nailed 50.1% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Lincoln Southeast lost to the Thunderbirds on the road by a decisive 75-57 margin in their previous meeting back in February of 2023. Can Lincoln Southeast avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
