After losing to the Palmyra Panthers the last time they met, the Aquinas Monarchs decided to demonstrate that turnabout is fair play. Aquinas came out on top against Palmyra by a score of 41-32 on Friday. Given Aquinas' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 77th, while Palmyra is ranked 233rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Bryant Stouffer, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds. The game was his ninth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Kailer Pohl, who scored 11 points along with four steals.
Despite the loss, Palmyra saw an underclassman step up: Gou Kamishita scored 18 points. Those 18 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Draven Priel, who scored six points.
Palmyra struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
The victory makes it two in a row for Aquinas and bumps their season record up to 6-3. As for Palmyra, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 1-7.
Aquinas will be staying on the road on Saturday to face off against Douglas County West at 5:00 p.m. on December 30, 2023. Hopefully Douglas County West focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up nine on Friday. Palmyra will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against David City at 1:35 a.m. on Saturday. Hopefully David City focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up ten on Friday.
