Warriors, Falcons Split Basketball Games At Neligh-Oakdale

Neligh-Oakdale and Elkhorn Valley split Friday night's all-Antelope County matchup with the Falcons taking the girls game and the Warriors winning the boys game.

In girls action, Elkhorn Valley won 49-34 in a physical battle. The Lady Falcons jumped out to a 15-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and increased the margin to 34-14 by halftime. The second half scoring was nearly even, and the Warriors couldn't overcome the early deficit.

In the boys game, the Warriors rolled to a 62-28 victory over the Falcons. 

N-O Junior Grant White led all scorers with 18 points. Eight other Warriors contributed to the balanced scoring attack: Tyson Belitz put up 10; Pepper Marchant 9; Alex Kerkman 7; Austin Rice and Nate Buck 6 each; and Cole Belitz, Chris Bentley and Clayton Anderson 2 each.

"A solid win, coming of off the back to back," N-O Coach Frank Gade said. "I was disappointed in our offensive execution. That is an area we will need to improve in moving forward. I really liked our energy and our offensive rebounding has improved tremendously. Looking forward to next week and the constant grind."

Tucker Hecht and Koby Smith led the Falcons with 9 points each, followed by Ezequiel Pena with 4, Dalton Smutney with 3, Emilio Sierra with 2, and Kalen Dittrich with 1. 

Elkhorn Valley will be in action again tomorrow night when they host Battle Creek, and Neligh-Oakdale will host Elgin Public/Pope John on Tuesday.