After a string of 31 wins dating back to last season, the Bellevue West Thunderbirds's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They took a 85-74 hit to the loss column at the hands of Millard North. While losing is never fun, Bellevue West can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 35th, while Millard North is ranked fifth).
Bellevue West lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Eldon Turner, who scored 18 points along with four steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Turner has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Jaden Jackson, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds.
Millard North's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Derek Rollins, who shot 4-for-7 from long range and dropped a double-double on 31 points and ten rebounds. The game was Rollins' third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Elijah Gaeth, who scored 22 points along with five assists and five rebounds.
Bellevue West's loss ended a 14-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 2-1. As for Millard North, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 3-0.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Bellevue West will challenge Pius X at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday. Allowing an average of 66.5 points per game, Pius X has struggled on the defensive end, but that doesn't have to be the case in this game. As for Millard North, they will head out on the road to face off against Lincoln East on Saturday. Hopefully Lincoln East focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 on Friday.
