The Grand Island Islanders's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their fifth straight loss. They ended up on the wrong side of a tough 75-50 walloping at the hands of Bryan. While losing is never fun, Grand Island can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 161st, while Bryan is ranked 40th).
Grand Island's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Evan McDonald, who scored 14 points, and Mukadi Mukoma who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points McDonald has scored all season. Reid Kelly was another key contributor, scoring three points.
A'mare Bynum was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 25 points and ten rebounds for Bryan. Bynum hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for four straight games. Another player making a difference was Amir Martin, who scored 16 points along with two blocks.
Grand Island dropped their record down to 4-9 with that loss, which was their fourth straight on the road. That rough patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.3 points per game. As for Bryan, their victory bumped their record up to 10-4.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Grand Island will take on Norfolk at TBD on Friday. Hopefully Norfolk focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up ten on Tuesday. As for Bryan, they will look to defend their home court on Friday against Omaha Northwest at 7:15 p.m. Omaha Northwest has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.
