The Gretna Dragons and the Millard West Wildcats will round out the year against one another at 12:00 p.m. on Friday at. Gretna knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past seven contests -- so hopefully Millard West likes a good challenge.
Gretna has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three games by 22 points or more this season. They claimed a resounding 82-44 victory over Omaha South at home. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 51-23.
Gretna's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Alex Wilcoxson, who scored 16 points along with three steals, and Landon Pokorski, who scored 18 points along with nine assists. Pokorski is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Treven Wilkins, who scored 11 points.
Meanwhile, Millard West scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Friday. They really took it to Buena Vista for the full four quarters, racking up a 79-33 victory on the road. Given Millard West's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 108th, while Buena Vista is ranked 278th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Among those leading the charge was Carter LaBorde, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds. Those 12 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Cooper Fortune, who scored 11 points.
Gretna's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-1. They've been dominating during the games in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 36.67 points. As for Millard West, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's matchup: Gretna have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 7.9 threes per game. It's a different story for Millard West, though, as they've been averaging only 6.6 threes per game. Given Gretna's sizeable advantage in that area, Millard West will need to find a way to close that gap.
Gretna strolled past Millard West when the teams last played last Saturday by a score of 81-65. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Millard West's Reece Carson, who scored 17 points. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Gretna still be able to contain him? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
