Basketball Recap: Uzziah Sanders Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Grand Island

Lincoln Southwest won the last time they faced Grand Island and things went their way on Thursday too. The Lincoln Southwest Silver Hawks secured a 72-67 W over the Grand Island Islanders. Given the Silver Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 48th, while the Islanders are ranked 134th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Lincoln Southwest's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Uzziah Sanders, who went 8 for 14 en route to 20 points along with five assists and four steals. Sanders is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last ten games he's played. Another player making a difference was Makkiah Sanders, who went 8 of 15 on his way to 18 points and six assists.

Grand Island's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Victor Fisher Jr, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 16 boards, and Broxton Barrientos, who went 6 for 9 en route to 17 points and four steals. Fisher Jr has become a key player for Grand Island: the team is 4-1 when he posts at least eight rebounds, but 2-8 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Riley Holling, who posted four points in addition to seven assists and five boards.

Lincoln Southwest is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.5 points per game. As for Grand Island, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-9.

Lincoln Southwest didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 58-57 loss against Fremont on the 24th. As for Grand Island, they will get a bit of extra time to process the defeat as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Benson at 7:15 p.m. on February 4th.