The Bertrand Vikings will be taking part in a tournament against the Southwest Roughriders at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Bertrand's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last nine matchups.
Bertrand saw some tournament action on Saturday. They managed a 63-57 victory over Southern Valley. Given the Vikings' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 125th, while the Eagles are ranked 253rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 01/25/25 vs Southern Valley | 17 |
| 01/21/25 vs Maywood/Hayes Center | 25 |
| 01/18/25 @ Overton | 23 |
It was another big night for Marcus Hernandez, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten boards. The game was his third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Kayden Hatfield, who posted 15 points.
Bertrand smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in six consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Southwest hadn't done well against Cambridge recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. Southwest secured a 69-65 W over Cambridge. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Roughriders.
Bertrand better keep an eye on Houston Billeter. He was instrumental in Southwest's win, dropping a double-double on 30 points and ten rebounds. That makes it 11 consecutive games in which Billeter has scored at least a third of Southwest's points. Deric Kelley was another key player, putting up eight points and 13 boards.
Bertrand's win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-4. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.9 points per game. As for Southwest, their victory bumped their record up to 6-9.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Bertrand has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 30.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Southwest struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Bertrand didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Southwest when the teams last played last Friday, but they still walked away with a 57-53 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Billeter, who almost dropped a double-double on 32 points and nine boards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Bertrand still be able to contain Billeter? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
