With Independence Day falling on Saturday, this year’s OSA River Cities Hoops grassroots basketball tournament had a different look to it with a Thursday-to-Saturday schedule and an entirely in-state field of teams. The holiday also resulted in short-handed rosters and some schedule quirks.
Still, I tried to cover as much of the boys side of the tournament as I could throughout the three days, tracking games from 10 different organizations. Here’s a look at the best performances I saw.
17U DIVISION
Top Division Champion: Nebraska Supreme PRO16 16U
Nebraska Supreme’s 16U squad opted to play up an age level but still finished 4-0 to win the tournament. Supreme began its run with a 24-2 start en route to a 59-47 win against Nebraska D-League Central 17U then beat Omaha Elite 17U 56-40 to win its pool.
In the semifinals, Supreme gradually pulled away from All O.NE 17U on the way to a 71-54 win, setting up a showdown with Lincoln Supreme National 2 17U in the championship. That proved to be one of the best games I saw all weekend with Nebraska Supreme pulling out a 75-73 victory.
NS trailed by eight at halftime before opening the second half with a 13-2 run to take the lead, and it went back and forth the rest of the way. Lincoln Supreme led 73-72 in the final minute when 2028 Auburn guard Ryan Guenther stepped up to seal the game. First, with Lincoln Supreme playing a 2-3 zone, the lefty confidently fired a catch-and-shoot 3 from the wing to put his team in front, then he made two plays on defense to preserve that lead, first rotating in help to force a miss with verticality then straight up blocking a shot at the rim on the next possession.
While Guenther was the hero late, 2028 Lincoln Southeast guard Jameson Shea carried the team on his back throughout the second half with 15 of his game-high 24 points. He shot 7-of-12 from the field including 3-of-6 from 3 while answering some big shots for Lincoln Supreme with buckets of his own. He added three assists and two steals. Shea was terrific in the semifinals as well with 17 points on 50% shooting, six rebounds and four assists.
The MVP of the tournament had to be 2028 Wahoo wing Landon Glock, however. I tracked three of Supreme’s games and he scored in double figures in all three on unbelievable shooting efficiency. He scored 13, 23 and 19 points for a total of 55 (18.3 per game) on a combined 19-for-27 shooting (70.4%). That included a blistering 10-for-14 mark from 3. He’s one of the best perimeter marksmen in Nebraska’s 2028 class but showed he can be more than just a shooter in the semifinals against All O.NE, shooting 6-for-8 inside the arc and corralling 14 rebounds (seven on each end) for a 23-point, 14-rebound double-double.
Lincoln Pius X forward Jake Markowski and Skutt Catholic wing James Russell chipped in 10 points apiece on a combined 8-for-12 shooting in the championship to give Supreme four in double figures.
Top Division Runner-Up: Lincoln Supreme National 2 17U
Lincoln Supreme National 2 17U also saw four players score in double figures in the championship, capping a 3-1 tournament. They beat Get Buckets or Die 72-65 and AEF Blue 71-60 in pool play then Dream Chasers Brewer 61-44 in the semifinals.
2027 Norris guard Parker Schmidt led Supreme with 18 points and three steals, showing some burst and shake off the bounce and good touch on a handful of difficult shots. Sandy Creek guard Logan Tomky added 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting (2-of-2 from 3), showing off his athleticism at the rim. Lincoln High guard Ikenna Osuji scored 10 of his 15 points after halftime, adding four boards and three assists to his line. Beatrice forward Harrison Vetrovsky added 14 points and nine rebounds, shooting a perfect 10-for-10 at the foul line.
I also watched Lincoln Supreme’s semifinal win over AEF, with Vetrosky leading the way in that one with 21 points on 6-of-12 from the field and 9-of-13 from the line, nine rebounds and two blocks. He’s usually the first to the ball off the rim, whether it’s from his own miss or a teammate’s, and he creates a lot of contact with how hard he plays. Tomky added 13 points, two steals and two blocks in that one as well.
Other Standouts
ETG Midwest 3SSB wing Russell Rucks III (Lincoln High)
ETG Midwest played a pair of showcase games on Friday, beating Get Buckets or Die 64-61 and AEF Blue 68-47. I watched the first game in which ETG escaped thanks to late heroics from Rucks.
GBOD made some big plays down the stretch to tie the game up at 61-all in the final 30 seconds, but ETG point guard Tra Moore (Staley, Mo.) drove past his defender, drew help and kicked to Rucks in the corner, who splashed the 3 just before time expired to win the game. He led ETG with 16 points on 6-of-11 from the field including 3-of-4 from deep. The bouncy 6-foot-6 wing shot well over 40% from deep in the spring for ETG and picked up where he left off this weekend.
Get Buckets or Die Guard Gavin Olsen (Millard West)
While Rucks hit the game-winner, it was Olsen who buried his own 3 to tie it up on the previous possession, coming up clutch in his own right. That triple was one of five he hit in the game as the sharpshooter totaled 19 points on 7-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-9 from deep. He shook off a slow start to catch fire, missing just one shot in the second half.
Nebraska Supreme PRO16 guards Evan Rodgers (Omaha Central), Drayke Brown (Millard South) and Evan Greenfield (Norris)
A team dropping out left Nebraska Supreme with one showcase game on Friday, and the six-man squad rolled to an 85-49 win over Nebraska D-League East.
Rodgers set the tone, scoring 20 of his game-high 22 points in the first half (D-League had 21 as a team at the break). The powerful guard worked on and off the ball, scoring on off-ball cuts and self-created buckets alike while converting three and-ones, grabbing four boards and blocking two shots.
Brown took over the primary scoring role in the second half with 14 of his 21. He shot 8-of-15 from the field (3-of-7 from 3) and 2-of-2 from the line, grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists without a turnover.
Finally, Greenfield was the glue that tied the whole team together, flirting with a triple-double at the point guard spot. He finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
All O.NE guard Antonio Deleon (Omaha Central)
Deleon’s tough shot-making kept All O.NE in the game for a while in the semifinals against Nebraska Supreme 16U. He finished with 22 points on 8-of-18 from the field (4-of-11 from 3) and 2-of-3 from the line with three steals and three assists.
AEF Blue guard Gavin Miller (Elkhorn South)
Whether it’s with AEF of Elkhorn South, Miller seems to put up numbers every time I watch him. In the 71-60 pool play loss to eventual champion Lincoln Supreme National 2, Miller led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-17 from the field (3-of-8 from 3) and 1-of-2 from the foul line while also dishing out four assists. He can catch fire from deep, plays well off two feet in the lane and uses his sturdy frame to create scoring angles around the rim. He’ll be a big offensive boost for the Storm this winter.
Dream Chasers Brewer guards Kale Lamberty (Bennington) and Ben LaBorde (Millard West)
Dream Chasers won a tight 66-62 game with Lincoln Supreme National 1 to earn a spot in the semifinals, with these two leading the way.
Lamberty showed off his touch from deep, totaling 18 points on 5-of-10 from 3 and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Dream Chasers ran some good action to free him for open looks and he made Supreme pay time and time again.
LaBorde did more of the dirty work, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-8 from the field (1-of-2 from 3) and 2-of-2 from the stripe and pulling down 10 rebounds.
After falling to Lincoln Supreme National 2 in the semifinals, Dream Chasers went on to beat All O.NE in the third-place game, 79-73.
Lincoln Supreme National 1 wing Zach Taubenheim (Lincoln Pius X)
While Dream Chasers got the win in pool play, Taubenheim looked like the best player on the floor. The lanky 6-foot-8 wing scored 20 points on 7-of-11 from the field (4-of-6 from 3) and 2-of-2 from the foul line and grabbed seven rebounds. He hit a couple big 3s late that gave Supreme a chance down the stretch before Lamberty hit a free throw to seal it.
16U DIVISION
Top Division Champion: Lincoln Supreme National 1
Lincoln Supreme went 3-0 in pool play — beating OSA Elite Chubick 53-51, Nebraska D-League North 77-65 and Dream Chasers Drexel 78-77 — to earn a spot in the championship, and from there they left no doubt by routing All O.NE 76-50 in the final.
Supreme trailed 36-31 at halftime after All O.NE buried seven 3s in the first half — three apiece from Lincoln North Star guard Dom Granville II and Council Bluffs (Ia.) St. Albert guard Cooper Hamilton. However, coach Kaleb Kempes’ decision to switch to a 2-3 zone in the second paid major dividends as it completely disrupted All O.NE’s offense. They managed just 14 points on 4-for-31 shooting after halftime as Supreme poured in 45 points on its end to run away with it.
The star for Supreme was 2028 Lincoln East wing Channing Bell who went to work early and often, inside and out to finish with 24 points on 10-of-12 from the field (3-of-3 from deep) including an and-one. He added seven rebounds and a block. Bell did a great job sealing inside for easy buckets and was money from the corners. He also came up just shy of a double-double with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting (1-of-1 from 3) and 10 rebounds in Supreme’s opening win over OSA.
Lincoln Southeast guard Jacob Rieker was terrific in the second half of the championship as well with 19 points, five assists and four offensive rebounds. He played distributor early with most of his assists in the first half then looked for his own shot in the second with 14 of that 19.
Additionally, Southwest guard Landen Byleen’s motor revved high all game as he finished with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting (3-of-8 from 3), seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Top Division Runner-up: All O.NE
For All O.NE, Granville and Hamilton led the way in the championship with 11 points apiece.
All O.NE went 2-1 in pool play to earn a spot in the final, although the loss came in a showcase game 85-65 to ETG Midwest 3SSB. They beat Lincoln Supreme National 2 80-65 and AEF Blue 63-57.
The consistent standout throughout the weekend, however, was Twin Loup forward Zevan Wolf. Against Lincoln Supreme National 2, he put up 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting (2-of-4 from 3), six rebounds, three steals and a block. Against ETG, he put up 21 in the first half alone to keep All O.NE within striking distance for a while. Wolf finished with 28 points on 9-of-21 from the field (4-of-10 from 3) and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line while adding seven rebounds, three steals and a block. He finished with nine points and five rebounds in the championship. Wolf uses his strong frame to finish at the rim and he appears to be a much more confident shooter after connecting at a high clip on low volume as a sophomore at Central Valley.
Omaha Buena Vista guard Zay Doremus had a strong weekend as well, scoring in double figures in all three games I watched. He did a bit of everything against Lincoln Supreme National 2 with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting (1-of-2 from 3), four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Against ETG, he added 16 points on 6-of-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. In the championship, he contributed 10 points on 4-of-8 from the field (2-of-2 from 3) and four rebounds. He’s one of a handful of transfers that should have an opportunity to make a big impact for the Bison this winter.
Other Standouts
ETG Midwest 3SSB wing Kalan Steinbeck (Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln) and guard Keaton Melcher (Bellevue West)
ETG scored a pair of 20-point wins on Friday, beating Omaha Elite 63-43 and All O.NE 85-65, and Steinbeck looked every bit the part of a high-major prospect in both.
The 6-foot-7 wing, now ranked as a top-100 prospect nationally according to 247Sports, contributed in a lot of ways against Omaha Elite with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting (2-of-4 from 3) and 1-of-2 foul shooting, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. The All O.NE game was strictly buckets for Steinbeck as he put on an unreal shooting display to finish with 22 points on 8-of-9 from the field (5-of-5 from 3) and 1-of-2 from the line. At least three of those triples came off one or more dribbles, and he hit multiple mid-range pull-ups as well.
Melcher led the way in the first game with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting including 2-of-4 from deep. The 3s didn’t fall in the second, but he made his presence felt in other ways to finish with 12 points, five rebounds and four steals, flashing aggression to the rim and athleticism to show he’s more than just a shooter.
Dream Chasers Drexel forward Ben Mausbach (Roncalli Catholic)
Of all the games I watched in person, Mausbach turned in the highest score in a 72-56 win over OSA Elite Chubick Saturday morning. The powerful 6-foot-3 post took advantage of a smaller OSA team to pour in 30 points, and he did so on 14-for-16 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds and two blocks. He did a great job establishing deep position and finishing inside throughout the game and also showed off some touch with a couple more difficult shots, including a short-roll floater.
The Dream Chasers did a great job getting the ball inside to Mausbach all game and shared the ball well as a whole, dishing out 20 assists on 27 field goals. Evan Driml (Creighton Prep) and Vinny Schwarz (Roncalli) led the way in that regard with six and five assists, respectively. Dream Chasers went 3-1 in the tournament, with a 78-77 loss to eventual champion Lincoln Supreme National 1 the only blemish. They beat Omaha Elite 72–70 in the third-place game.
OSA Elite Chubick guards Jack Kasner (Skutt Catholic) and TJ Shannon (Millard North ‘29)
OSA went 2-2 to claim fifth place, though I only saw the two losses. Kasner led the way in the two-point loss to Lincoln Supreme National 1, getting to the rim at will to finish with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting while dishing out three assists.
Shannon also showed both quickness and shot-making in both games while playing up a grade, scoring 10 points against Lincoln Supreme and a team-high 19 points against Dream Chasers while shooting 5-for-7 from deep across the two games.
15U DIVISION
Top Division Champion: Lincoln Supreme National 2
Multiple holiday-related forfeits and a scheduling snafu led to Supreme winning the title by default. In place of the championship game, Supreme played a running-clock scrimmage against Omaha Elite, one of three teams to go 2-1 in Pool B.
Supreme won the scrimmage 47-26 after beating All O.NE 62-58 and Dream Chasers Brewer 62-59. They advanced to the final via forfeit in their third pool game.
Three players scored in double figures against Omaha Elite with 2029 Lincoln Northeast guard Tyler Hubbard leading the way. He finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 from the field (1-of-3 from deep) and 1-of-2 from the line, four rebounds and two steals.
Lincoln Southeast wing Breckin Ondrak and Ashland-Greenwood forward Chase Carson scored 12 points apiece. Ondrak shot 5-of-10 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point range while Carson added nine rebounds and two blocks to his line.
For Omaha Elite, Omaha South guard Kenton Kimble did the heavy lifting with 15 points on 6-for-11 from the field and 3-for-3 from the line. Kimble has impressive touch from mid-range and around the basket, allowing him to get the ball in the basket despite his small stature.
I also saw Omaha Elite’s opening pool play game against Lincoln Supreme National 1, a 67-53 win. That was a team effort with five players in double figures, including Kimble who finished with 13 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Steffen Thomas (Omaha North) matched Kimble with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting (1-of-2 from 3) and 2-of-4 foul shooting while snagging six rebounds and two steals. John Harrison (Skutt Catholic) and Quentin Trice (Bellevue East) scored 11 points apiece, with Trice adding seven rebounds including four on the offensive end. Carter Bruns (Papillion-La Vista) rounded out the group with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting (2-of-5 from 3), four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Omaha Elite also beat Nebraska D-League North 75-71 in overtime before falling to OSA Elite Krehbiel 69-53 to finish pool play.
Other Standouts
Nebraska Supreme PRO16 guard James Fink (Millard South)
Nebraska Supreme beat ETG Midwest 3SSB 62-53 in a showdown between two shoe circuit teams that went a combined 43-3 in the spring. Injury sidelined Supreme’s leading scorer, Omaha Westside guard Antonio Loftin, but Fink more than stepped up to fill the void. He went off for 18 points in the first half alone before finishing with 27. The sharpshooter buried five 3-pointers — one more than ETG hit as a team.
Lincoln Supreme National 1 forward Ascher Hagberg (Norris)
Omaha Elite pulled away from Supreme in the second half of the opening game in pool play, but Hagberg battled throughout the game to finish with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double. He scored inside a couple times, drew four shooting fouls, splashed a 3 and dominated the offensive glass with seven of his caroms on that end. Hagberg has good size and a deft shooting touch and should play a significant role for the Titans as a sophomore.
