Bellevue West is 9-1 against the Chieftains since January of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Bellevue West Thunderbirds will look to defend their home court against the Bellevue East Chieftains at 7:15 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Bellevue West has 14 straight wins, the Chieftains have 11 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Even though Lincoln Southeast scored an imposing 67 points on Saturday, Bellevue West still came out on top. Bellevue West secured a 72-67 W over the Knights. Given Bellevue West's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked first, while the Knights are ranked 30th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jaden Jackson was his usual excellent self, scoring 21 points along with two blocks. He is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 18 or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Steven Poulicek, who scored 13 points.
Meanwhile, Bellevue East pushed their score all the way to 68 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell just short of Lincoln High by a score of 70-68. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Bellevue East in their matchups with the Links: they've now lost four in a row.
Despite their loss, Bellevue East saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Trey Tolbert, who scored 17 points along with two steals, was perhaps the best of all. Another player making a difference was Kael Walker, who scored 11 points along with two steals.
Bellevue West pushed their record up to 16-1 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home. As for Bellevue East, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost 12 of their last 13 contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-16 record this season.
Everything came up roses for Bellevue West against the Chieftains in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 as the squad secured a 73-36 victory. With Bellevue West ahead 44-20 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
