The Gretna East Griffins will challenge the Scottsbluff Bearcats at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Gretna East can't be too worried about heading out to take on Scottsbluff: they just beat Aurora at home, who had been dominant on their own court up to that point. Gretna East walked away with a 50-40 win over Aurora on Monday.
Drayke Brown
| 03/03/25 @ Aurora | 22 |
| 02/26/25 vs Gretna | 3 |
| 02/15/25 @ Wahoo | 16 |
| 02/14/25 vs Mount Michael Benedictine | 4 |
| 02/11/25 vs Blair | 7 |
| + 12 more games |
Gretna East found their leader in sophomore Drayke Brown, who shot 44% from the field on his way to 22 points. That's the most points Brown has posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Talan Hovie, who scored seven points in addition to seven boards and three steals.
Meanwhile, Scottsbluff had already won 11 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 38.3 points) and they went ahead and made it 12 last Monday. They enjoyed a cozy 55-37 victory over the Dragons. Given the Bearcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 16th, while the Dragons are ranked 60th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Scottsbluff's win came from a few key players Gretna East will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Nate Kelley, who went 7-for-11 to rack up 15 points along with six rebounds and five assists. The contest was his ninth in a row with at least 15 points. Keon Delgado was another key player, dropping a double-double with ten points and ten boards.
Scottsbluff pushed their record up to 23-3 with the win, which was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season. As for Gretna East, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-7 record this season.
Thursday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Gretna East has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 34.2% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Scottsbluff struggles in that department as they've nailed 35% of their three-pointers this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
