After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Crete, the Elkhorn Antlers were happy to have found some success on Thursday. They had just enough and edged Bennington out 54-51. Given Elkhorn's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked ninth, while Bennington is ranked 41st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Elkhorn got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Colin Comstock out in front who scored 19 points. Another player making a difference was Luke Howard, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Bennington lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Austin Kaiser, who scored 15 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Gavin Olson, who scored 11 points along with two steals.
Elkhorn's win was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 11-2. As for Bennington, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 8-7.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Elkhorn will take on Lincoln Northwest at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday. Lincoln Northwest has now lost nine straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since December 9. As for Bennington, they will look to defend their home court on Saturday against Hastings. Hastings is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.
