There's no place like home for the Bellevue East Chieftains, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road on Friday. They had just enough and edged Lincoln Southwest out 62-59. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Bellevue East got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was TNiyah Wilson-Smith out in front who scored 21 points along with six assists. Another player making a difference was Brani Jackson, who scored 16 points along with two steals.
Despite the loss, Lincoln Southwest still got an impressive performance from Kennadi Williams, who scored 12 points along with eight assists and six steals. That's the first time this season that Williams posted eight or more assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Hayden Rathe, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds.
Even though they lost, Lincoln Southwest were working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Bellevue East is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a massive bump to their 10-6 record this season. As for Lincoln Southwest, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-3.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Bellevue East and Lincoln High will face off at 5:30 p.m. on February 2nd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. As for Lincoln Southwest, they will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Lincoln Northeast at 5:45 p.m. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Nebraska (Lincoln Northeast is ranked 31st, while Lincoln Southwest is ranked 28th).
