The Lincoln Northeast Rockets's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their fifth straight defeat. They took a hard 56-41 fall against Papillion-LaVista South. While losing is never fun, Lincoln Northeast can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 132nd, while Papillion-LaVista South is ranked 38th).
Several Rockets players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Mowafag A abdalla, who scored 13 points. Grant Fredericks was another key contributor, scoring six points.
Lincoln Northeast struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
It was another big night for Bryson Bahl, who scored 23 points along with eight rebounds and three steals for Papillion-LaVista South. Bahl has been hot recently, having posted 16 or more points the last seven times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Levi Webb, who scored 13 points.
Papillion-LaVista South's lineup was just a bit different on Saturday as Webb got a bit more time on the court (21 vs. his season average of 9.27). Webb made the most of the opportunity, scoring 13 points. A few more games like that and he might be seeing even more time going forward.
Lincoln Northeast dropped their record down to 7-9 with that loss, which was their fourth straight at home. As for Papillion-LaVista South, their win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 10-6.
Lincoln Northeast will take on Lincoln Southwest at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Lincoln Northeast will be up against Lincoln Southwest's rather soft defense (which has allowed 54.85 points per match), so fans could be in store for a big offensive showing. Papillion-LaVista South is on the road again on Saturday and plays Lincoln East at 5:15 p.m. on February 3rd. Papillion-LaVista South knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past three games -- so hopefully Lincoln East likes a good challenge.
