In just over a half hour, at 5:30 p.m., the varsity boys basketball team (16-6) will tip off against Gretna (9-14) for the start of the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) 2025 Class B-2 Boys Basketball Subdistricts.
The two teams have already faced each other twice this season, with East winning both matchups (62-47 and 53-43). In addition to those two wins, according to MaxPreps, the Griffins are ranked 6th in Class B and have averaged 62.1 points per game, compared to the Dragons who are ranked 18th and have averaged about 51.1 points per game. If these statistics are maintained throughout tonight’s game, the Griffins should walk out with the win, which would make them one step closer to hosting a district finals game.
“I’m anticipating it to be a fun game,” sophomore guard Drayke Brown said. “I trust the work we’ve put in over the last week or so, preparing for it.”
In addition to their game, they will also host Plattsmouth (9-12) and Platteview (16-6) who will play at 7:15 p.m. tonight. The winning teams of tonight’s games will then play tomorrow, to see who will be a host for district finals.
“l feel pretty confident about districts,” senior forward Drew Rhoades said. “If we play the way we’ve been playing, I think we can be pretty special.”
Districts will take place March 3-4 with locations of games to be determined by the results of subdistricts. Only eight teams from districts, consisting of the top six winners of each respected district and two wild-card selections, will advance to the NSAA Class B Boys State Basketball Tournament which will start on March 13 at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln.
Even if the boys don’t win during districts, they may still earn a ticket to State as they are currently ranked seventh on the (NSAA) wildcard leaderboard. However, that is not the path the team feels they will take to get there.
“I think everybody’s feeling good right now,” Varsity Boys Head Coach Cooper Anthony said. “I would say there’s probably 16 teams in the state that feel like they got a shot, and I definitely feel like we’re one of them.”
If they make it to State, whether by securing a spot as one of the top six or by earning a wild card, it will mark their first appearance at the tournament. Last year, the team was ranked 151st in Nebraska and was 21st in Class B rankings. Currently, they are ranked 16th in Nebraska and are up 15 spots in the Class B rankings compared to last year.
“Last year was important for us to go through some of the challenges we did because I think our kids learned through some adversity,” Anthony said. “This year, we’ve been able to come out and handle some difficult situations.”
