It was another full week of hoops for the conference before most of the teams in the RPAC gear up for the tournament this week.
Alma
The Cardinals had three games last week and ended up taking two of the three. They were on the road Tuesday and against Amherst. The Cardinals lost 51-47. Alma led 41-27, but a 20-10 period from Amherst allowed them to come back.
Tucker Biskup had 12 points and Zavier Mitchell had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Then Alma was on the road against Hi-Line on Thursday and won 55-41. Alma had four players in double figures. Grady Faimon had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Mitchell had 14 points, Isaiah Neal scored 13, and Biskup scored 11.
The Cardinals then hosted a very good Hitchcock County team and won 40-36. Biskup had 13 points and five steals, and Mitchell had 10 points and six rebounds. Faimon had 10 points. Neal had five rebounds.
Alma is 13-2 and will play at Superior on Tuesday. Then, they begin conference play on Saturday in Bertrand as the #1 seed in the East. They play #8 Arapahoe at 1:00 P.M. CT.
Arapahoe
Arapahoe had two games this past week and fell in their matchups. Initially, they lost to Loomis, 79-35. Will Cacy had 11 points, and Eli Shafer had seven points and 14 rebounds.
The Warriors faced Hi-Line on Friday and fell in a close one 50-46. The Warriors were down 39-30 heading to the final quarter. Arapahoe made a late push by outscoring Hi-Line 16-11, but it was too late. Cacy had 25 points and 13 rebounds. Gage Gooden scored 10 points.
Arapahoe is 1-14 and will battle at Axtell on Tuesday before the RPAC Tournament. Arapahoe is the #8 seed in the East and will face #1 seed Alma in Bertrand on Saturday at 1:00 P.M. CT.
Bertrand
The Vikings played Southwest on Friday and won by a narrow margin, 57-53. Thunder Nelson had 32 points and 15 rebounds. Marcus Hernandez scored 10 points for the Vikings.
Bertrand on Saturday, went to Overton. The Vikings again won a close one, 60-59. Bertrand is now 11-4 and has won six games in a row. The Vikings will play on Tuesday at home versus Maywood-Hayes Center, which is an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup, then on Saturday, they are the #2 seed in the East and will play #7 seeded Southern Valley with the game at 5:30 P.M. CT.
Cambridge
Cambridge had a trio of games this week and went 3-0. They began with a close in in overtime against Medicine Valley. They beat the Raiders 63-60. Cambridge had three players in double-figures as Maverick Webb had 21 points, and Krayton Ruggles had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Hodge Raburn had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
The Trojans then faced Sutherland and won 63-37, and it was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup and you can read the full game story here.
The Trojans on Saturday went to Maxwell and won big 65-39. Webb kept up his strong play with 22 points, Ruggles had 17, and Ahlemeyer had 16.
Cambridge is 7-6, on a six-game winning streak, and will host Wauneta-Palisade on Tuesday and then begin conference play on Saturday.
Dundy County Stratton
The Tigers had two games this past week and went 1-1. First, they had a battle with a fellow RPAC West team, Hitchcock County, who has been playing great basketball as of late. The Falcons won the tight matchup, 57-55.
For DCS, Ethan Latta had 23 points and six rebounds, Lane Bybee had 14 points and 10 boards, and Breck Horner scored 11.
The Tigers bounced back nicely over the weekend and beat Loomis 80-63. DCS is now 9-3 and will face Wallace at home on Tuesday before the RPAC Tourney on Saturday. They will open as the #2 seed and play in Maxwell at 5:30 P.M. CT against #7 seed Sutherland.
Hi-Line
Hi-Line had a trio of games this past week and they ended up going 2-1. First, they went to Southwest on Tuesday and won a close one, 47-42. Zach Whittaker had 13 points, and Brody Diefenbaugh finished with eight.
Next, the Bulls played Alma, one of the top teams in the RPAC, and fell in the game, 55-41. Dawson Ruda had a nice game with 19 points to lead Hi-Line. Whittaker again scored 13 points.
In their final game of the week, Hi-Line had a narrow win over Arapahoe, 50-46. Whittaker had 17, and Ruda pitched in with 13.
Hi-Line moves to 6-8 and will play Overton on Tuesday at home in Eustis. Then, on Saturday, the RPAC Basketball Tournament gets rolling. The Bulls will be the #5 seed and will be at Bertrand at 2:30 P.M. CT to play #4 seed Medicine Valley. A very intriguing matchup.
Hitchcock County
Hitchcock County had three games this past week and took two of them. First, they beat Dundy County Stratton 57-55. A big win for the Falcons, especially regarding seeding in the. RPAC Tournament.
Then, the Falcons lost on Friday on the road to Alma, 40-36.
But they were at home on Saturday against Sutherland and won big, 51-19. This was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup and you can read the full story here.
Hitchcock County is now 10-2 and will play Paxton on Tuesday ahead of the RPAC Tournament. For the tourney, they are the #1 seed and will play at Maxwell on Saturday against #8 seeded Wauneta-Palisade at 1:00 P.M. The Falcons are now 10-2 this season.
Maxwell
The Wildcats played in three games this past week and they were able to get a win. On Tuesday, they hosted Maywood-Hayes Center and won 57-46. Cole Huffman had 21 points and seven rebounds, Jesse Reyes had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Joaquin Vega had 14 points and eight rebounds.
On Friday, South Loup was the opponent, and the Wildcats lost 56-29. Huffman led the scoring with 12 points.
On Saturday, the Wildcats played a conference opponent at home against Cambridge. The Wildcats lost 65-39. Jesse Reyes led the way with 16 points for Maxwell.
Maxwell is now 3-10 and will be at Brady on Tuesday before the RPAC Tournament. On Saturday, the Wildcats will be the #6 seed and will play #3 seeded Wallace at 4:00 P.M. CT. The game will be in Maxwell.
Maywood-Hayes Center
The Wolves had two games last week and they fell in both of them. First, they played Maxwell on the road and lost 57-46. The Wolves led 41-39 heading to the fourth. But Maxwell went on an 18-5 run to close it out and win the game. Jaxson Anders led the Wolves with 11 points and six rebounds, Oliver Anders had seven points and eight rebounds, Kade Broz ad nine points and seven rebounds, and Charlie Callis had eight points.
Maywood-Hayes Center then played Sandhills-Thedford on Friday and lost 49-38. Jaxson Anders had 17 points to lead MHC and Grady Erickson had eight.
The Wolves are 9-5 and will play Bertrand on the road Tuesday, which is an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup. The Wolves are the #5 seed and will play #4 seed Paxton at 2:30 P.M. CT in Maxwell.
Medicine Valley
Medicine Valley went 1-1 this past week with a win against Mullen late in the week and earlier in the week a loss to Cambridge in a thriller. On Tuesday, Medicine Valley went to Cambridge and lost in overtime, 63-60. Mason Roblee had a big game with 18 points, Lucas Einspahr had 14, Ethan Brown had 13, and Brody Senff had 10. Roblee grabbed nine rebounds, and so did Brown.
The Raiders bounced back and beat Mullen 49-31 on Saturday. Senff had 17 points and 17 rebounds to lead Medicine Valley. In this game, the Raiders held Mullen to three points in the second and third quarters combined.
The Raiders will be at home on Tuesday against Sutherland. Then, on Saturday, they play as the #4 seed in the East against #5 seed Hi-Line at 2:30 P.M. CT in Bertrand.
Paxton
Paxton played in two games this last week and ended up going 1-1. Paxton first beat Creek Valley 63-33. Jasper Brewster and Maddex McConnell each had 12 points in the game.
Then Paxton played Wallace on Friday and lost 56-49. Tanner Hebblethwaite had 21 points and seven rebounds. McConnell had eight points.
Paxton is now 8-4 and will play at home versus Hitchcock County on Tuesday. On Saturday on the West side of the RPAC the Tigers will be the #4 seed and will have their third matchup against #5 seed MHC. They have dropped the first two matchups. That game is at 2:30 P.M. CT in Maxwell.
Southern Valley
The Eagles played three games this past week and dropped all three. The Eagles began with a loss to Chase County last Tuesday, 73-26. This was a tough opponent for the Eagles to face.
Then, Southern Valley faced another excellent opponent, Holdrege. The Eagles lost 89-29.
The Eagles closed out the week at home against an RPAC East opponent, Southwest, and lost 54-44. The Eagles were troubled by a 14-1 first quarter. They crawled back well but could not complete the comeback.
Southern Valley is 3-12 and will play as the #7 seed in the East for the RPAC Tournament on Saturday. They have #2 seed, Bertrand, in Bertrand, at 5:30 P.M. CT.
Southwest
Southwest had three games this past week, all close games, but they went 1-1. Initially, they fell to Hi-Line 47-42. Houston Billeter led the Roughriders with 16 points and Deric Kelley had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
They took Bertrand down to the wire on the road on Friday losing 57-53. It was 38-38 heading to the fourth quarter but Bertrand outscored the Roughriders 19-15 to win the game. Houston Billeter scored 32 points and nine rebounds. Trenton Williams had 11 points.
The Roughriders then beat Southern Valley 54-44. Against Southern Valley, Billeter scored 30 points and had 13 rebounds. Southwest moves to 5-9 this season. They will begin RPAC play on Saturday as the #6 seed in Bertrand. They will play #3 seed Cambridge at 4:00 P.M. CT.
Sutherland
Sutherland had a pair of games and they dropped them both. They fell to Cambridge 63-37. It was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup and you can read the full game story here.
Then, on Saturday, they played Hitchcock County and lost 51-19. This was an RPAC Rundown Featured Matchup and you can read the full story here.
Sutherland is now 2-10 and will play Medicine Valley on Tuesday on the road. Then, on Saturday, they will be the #7 seed on the West and play #2 seed Dundy County Stratton at 5:30 P.M. CT in Maxwell.
Wallace
Wallace has been on a streak of late, winning four in a row, with two coming last week. They began with a win over Sout Platte, 76-49. The Wildcats were excellent on offense, scoring at least 18 points in each period.
Wallace then turned around and beat Paxton too, 56-49. A big week to say the least for Wallace.
They are now 10-4 and will play at Dundy County Stratton on Tuesday. On Saturday, they will begin conference play on the West side as a #3 seed and play #6 seed Maxwell. The game will be in Maxwell at 4:00 P.M. CT.
Wauneta-Palisade
The Broncos had two games this past week on Friday and Saturday. They began with a 69-34 loss to Perkins County. The Broncos were down 23-3 after the first quarter and could not recover.
Next, they fell to Garden County, 53-48. Ashton Wheeler was solid with 20 points. Grayden Sutherland had 11 rebounds. Aden Acton had eight.
Wauneta-Palisade is now 1-12 and will face Cambridge on the road Tuesday and then play in the RPAC Tournament. They will be the #8 seed and play #1 seeded Hitchcock County on Saturday in Maxwell at 1:00 P.M. CT.
Check out the Bracket below
