Basketball Recap: Grand Island Central Catholic Piles Up the Points Against Ord

After losing to Ord the last time they met, Grand Island Central Catholic decided to demonstrate that turnabout is fair play. The Grand Island Central Catholic Crusaders breezed by the Ord Chanticleers to the tune of 72-44 on Thursday. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while the Chanticleers are ranked 147th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Leading Grand Island Central Catholic to victory were Thomas Birch and Thomas Liban. Birch went 7 of 13 en route to 17 points and three steals, while Liban went 5 of 11 on his way to 13 points and four steals. Birch continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kyle Kelly, who posted nine points and five rebounds.

Grand Island Central Catholic was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ord only racked up six assists.

Ord's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Will Lange, who put up ten points. Another player making a difference was Colton Thompson, who had three points and six boards.

Crusaders

Previous 4 Games (Home)

01/02/25 vs Ord	72-44
12/28/24 vs Minden	60-31
12/27/24 vs St. Patrick's	72-46
12/20/24 vs Lincoln Christian	58-50

Grand Island Central Catholic pushed their record up to 7-2 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 22.8 points. As for Ord, their loss dropped their record down to 3-5.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Grand Island Central Catholic will square off against Seward at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. As for Ord, they will take on Cozad at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Cozad is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 61.6 points per game this season.