Top stars, best performances in Nebraska boys basketball (Feb. 13-19)

By Nathan Charles

Subdistrict and district play will open this week for Nebraska boys high school basketball. As we head into the postseason, the next three weeks of competition look to be potentially as exciting as ever. Players this week put together performances that included 10 three-pointers, two games with 10 assists, eight double-doubles and five who achieved new career-highs.

River Johnston, North Platte Senior

Johnston was an effective scorer and distributor in a Jan. 14 win over Gering. With the ball in his hands he shot 7 of 11, hit two three-pointers and handed out 10 assists. He also grabbed five rebounds and notched the second double-double of his career to go with a 23-point, 11-rebound effort as a junior in a win also against Gering.

Long displayed the sharpshooting element to his game in a Valentine’s Day win over Grand Island Northwest. The junior hit from beyond the arc 10 times on 18 tries and had a total of 40 points for a new career-high that bested his previous scoring title by four points. Long now has five games with 30 or more points this season and has made 66 threes.

Treyson Anderson, Pius X Junior

Mired in a four-game losing skid and with a tough stretch that includes two top-25 teams, the Thunderbolts were looking to get back on track before the postseason in a Feb. 14 road game at Northeast. Anderson provided the spark for a turnaround and a return to the win column when he put together a double-double on 20 points and 12 rebounds. Anderson now has 14 double-doubles on the season and seven in the past eight games.

A'mare Bynum, Omaha Bryan Sophomore

Bynum recorded his eighth double-double of the season while also achieving a new career-high scoring mark in the Feb. 14 home win against Northwest. The sophomore shot 11 for 19, scored 28 points, hit two threes and pulled down 17 rebounds – a figure that also tied his career-high. Bynum grabbed nine of those on the offensive end and also handed out three assists to go with three blocks.

CJ Mitchell, Westside Junior

Mitchell was the driving force behind Westside tying its season-high point total during a Valentine’s Day win over Millard West. The Warriors shot 55% thanks in large part to Mitchell finding his teammates for 10 assists. That plus 15 points gave Mitchell the first double-double of his career and increased his assist total to 76. Mitchell has an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly two to one.

Carter Mick, Lincoln East Junior

Mick led all scorers when he put up 26 points in a top-10 matchup between East and North Star on Feb. 14. The East junior helped lead his team to victory on 11 of 19 shooting, three three-pointers and six rebounds. The performance helped push East to an eighth straight win and earned Mick his fifth 20-point game of the season.

Kyler Lusche, Kimball Sophomore

Lusche struggled finding his stroke out on the court but scored 15 points nonetheless thanks to two three pointers and three free throws. And while he was 5 of 13 on field goals, his impact was felt elsewhere, specifically on the glass where Lusche grabbed seven offensive and eight defensive rebounds for a double-double on 15 points and 15 rebounds. Lusche has five double-doubles on the season and is seven points away from reaching 200 for the year.

Riley Bombeck, Shelton Junior

Bombeck led his team to its 19th win in a row and notched his ninth game with 20 or more points in Friday’s home win against Silver Lake. He scored 26 on 11 of 20 shooting and pulled down five rebounds on each end of the court for a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double. It was Bombeck’s ninth double-double of the season and his first in February since putting together four in January.

Trey Richert, Nebraska Lutheran Senior

Richert reached 1,000 career points earlier this season and will almost certainly go over 400 points for the season the next time he steps on the court. He was one point short of his fourth 30-point game of the season in Friday’s win over Walthill with 29 on 10 of 17 shooting, five three-pointers, 4 for 4 at the line, five rebounds and two assists. Richert is averaging over 20 points per game and is 15th in Nebraska in scoring.

Tayvin Murphy, Westview Sophomore

It’s been a challenging first season for the Wolverines. Learning how to compete in Class A with mostly sophomores and juniors has led to a 7-15 season and two five-game losing skids. But lately, Westview and Murphy have been growing up quickly. The sophomore scored a career-high 29 points in Friday’s win over Benson, hit on 9 of 16 of his shots, sank five threes, went 6 of 8 from the line and grabbed eight rebounds.

Kolby Lussetto, Bridgeport Junior

Lussetto put up 22 points and led Bridgeport to its third win in the last four during Friday’s victory over Lakota Tech. The junior shot 8 of 17 and hit on 4 of 9 from three-point range. It was the second time in three games Lussetto scored over 20 points counting the 21 he had a week earlier. It was the 14th time this year the junior has scored in double figures but his first two 20-point games of the season.

Jeremiah Ingison, Maywood/Hayes Center Junior

Ingison had his second double-double in as many games when he scored 24 and grabbed 10 rebounds in Friday’s win over Perkins County. The junior scored his total on 9 of 14 shooting and grabbed four offensive rebounds and six on the defense end for his board total. He added three assists and four steals in what was his second-most productive game of the year following 34 points on Jan. 7.

Sam Schernikau, Waverly Senior

Schernikau isn’t known as a great scorer but seems to have found that element of his game recently. The senior scored a career-high 27 in Friday’s win over Beatrice and made it six out of the last nine games with double-digit point totals. Schernikau’s previous best was 17 points against Gering on Jan. 17. He has 62 combined points in the past four games – 30% of his total for the season.

Jake Rath, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Senior

Rath had 18 double-doubles coming into Friday’s game against Wynot, but for the first time since the end of December he was coming off a game with fewer than 10 rebounds. The senior was back to his old ways in Friday’s game with 25 points and 17 rebounds. Rath had five boards on the offensive end and 12 on the defensive end for his second-highest rebounding total of the season.

Michael Hassenstab, Omaha Northwest Senior

Hassenstab and the Huskies have just four wins this season but two of those have come in the past four games thanks to Hassenstab’s efforts as a scorer. The senior put up a career-high 32 points in Friday’s win over Omaha South, shot 12 of 22, hit seven three-pointers and grabbed five rebounds. Hassenstab has scored in double digits 18 times this season and has more than 20 five times.

Lance Rucker, Millard South Senior

Rucker was almost perfect on Saturday night when he hit on 11 of 12 shots and scored a game-high 25 points in a win over Bellevue East. He continually attacked the hoop and created layups, went a perfect 3 for 3 from the free throw line and put together a double-double with 10 rebounds. It was his seventh double-double of the season and his second in a row counting 11 points and 14 rebounds the night before in a losing effort against Creighton Prep.

Caden Stone, Elkhorn South Senior

Stone was solid as a rock for the Storm while scoring 23 points in a road win Saturday at Norfolk. The senior made 9 of 10 shots, was 4 of 5 from the perimeter, dished out five assists and grabbed three rebounds for his highest scoring point total of the season. Stone has been an effective shooter all season at 44% overall and 38% from beyond the arc.

Jaden Jackson, Bellevue West Junior

Saturday’s performance wasn’t one of the tops for Jackson in terms of scoring or shooting, but he was the man of the hour when it looked as if the Thunderbirds might see their unbeaten season come to an end. But Jackson was Johnny-on-the-spot in overtime with the go-ahead three-pointer that secured Bell West a perfect regular season and a 24-0 record. Jackson scored 13 on the night, hit two threes, pulled down four rebounds and handed out three assists.