The Lincoln Southwest Silver Hawks will head out to take on the Grand Island Islanders at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Lincoln Southwest knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past four contests -- so hopefully Grand Island likes a good challenge.
Lincoln Southwest is headed into the matchup having just posted their closest victory since December 7, 2024 on Saturday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 81-79 win over Benson. Given the Silver Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 50th, while the Bunnies are ranked 154th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 12/14/24 vs Kearney | 21 |
| 01/18/25 @ Benson | 35 |
| 01/07/25 vs Lincoln High | 25 |
| 01/14/25 vs Bellevue East | 21 |
| 01/02/25 @ Lincoln North Star | 20 |
Uzziah Sanders was his usual excellent self, going 14 of 17 on his way to 35 points along with five boards and five steals. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Makkiah Sanders, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds.
Lincoln Southwest was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Grand Island over Omaha Northwest in every quarter on their way to victory on Saturday. Grand Island blew past Omaha Northwest 55-33. The game marked the Islanders' most dominant victory of the season.
Lincoln Southwest better keep an eye on Victor Fisher Jr. He was instrumental in Grand Island's win, going 11 for 19 en route to 30 points and five boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Babur Choul, who posted ten points.
Grand Island has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-8 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.8 points per game. As for Lincoln Southwest, their record now sits at 8-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Lincoln Southwest has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Grand Island struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Lincoln Southwest strolled past Grand Island in their previous matchup back in December of 2023 by a score of 70-53. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lincoln Southwest since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
