Basketball Recap: Elkhorn South Takes a Loss

Elkhorn South easily dispatched Burke last Friday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Elkhorn South Storm fell just short of the Lincoln North Star Navigators by a score of 62-60 on Thursday. The Storm were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Navigators apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in January of 2024.

When it comes to explaining why Elkhorn South lost, don't look at Cooper Mroczek. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double with 33 points and ten boards. That was a full 55% of Elkhorn South's points, marking the third time in a row Mroczek has posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cameron Wolf, who put up eight points.

Lincoln North Star found their leader in sophomore Jordan Castor, who went 8-for-13 en route to 22 points along with five assists and five rebounds. What's more, Castor also posted a 62% shooting accuracy, which is the highest he's achieved since back in February of 2024. J'Shawn Afuh was another key player, going 6-for-12 on his way to 15 points.

Elkhorn South has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches, which has put a noticeable dent in their 6-13 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.0 points over those games. As for Lincoln North Star, they have been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-5 record this season.

Elkhorn South has already played their next game, an 80-69 defeat against Westview on the 14th. As for Lincoln North Star, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Millard South at 7:15 p.m. on February 20th. Millard South has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.