Basketball Recap: South Platte Triumphs

If Wauneta-Palisade wanted to avenge their loss from the last time they played South Platte, they should've done a better job of containing Quinten Koenen. The South Platte Blue Knights blew past the Wauneta-Palisade Broncos 71-47 on Friday thanks in part to Koenen, who almost dropped a double-double on 17 points and nine rebounds. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in assists (seven).

Joshua Estrada was another key player, putting up 13 points and three steals. He continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played.

Despite the defeat, Wauneta-Palisade had strong showings from Aden Acton, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten boards, and Ashton Wheeler, who posted 16 points. That was a full 34% of Wauneta-Palisade's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's had more than a third of the team's points.

South Platte's win bumped their record up to 4-2. As for Wauneta-Palisade, their loss was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-6.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. South Platte will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Perkins County at 3:30 p.m. on December 31st. South Platte is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.8 points per game this season. Wauneta-Palisade also won't see the court for a while: their next matchup is against Cheylin on January 7, 2025. Wauneta-Palisade is facing Cheylin at the right time seeing as Cheylin is stuck on a three-game losing streak.