No. 1 Bellevue West boys basketball closed out the regular season with a 61-58 come-from-behind win at No. 4 Gretna on Saturday afternoon.
The Thunderbirds finish the regular season with a 22-1 record while the Dragons sit at 18-5 and will be a two seed in districts.
Story of the Game
After a fast-paced first quarter filled with high-level shot-making, Gretna changed the game with a 1-3-1 zone. The Dragons turned an early six-point deficit into a two-point game after the first quarter then opened the second with a 16-6 run to take an eight-point lead.
Bellevue West cut the deficit to four at halftime and tied the game up midway through the third, but Gretna scored the last four points to take a 45-41 lead into the final period. Bellevue West shot 1-for-10 from 3 against Gretna’s zone in the second and third quarters.
The Thunderbirds finally settled in against the zone in the fourth quarter and managed to tie it up at 50-all as Jaden Jackson took the lid off the rim with a 3-pointer. Landon Pokorski drew a foul and hit two free throws to put Gretna back in front, but Bellevue West responded with a bucket inside from Robby Garcia and a three-point play from Steven Poulicek.
“We had a little tempo in the fourth quarter to the game,” Bellevue West coach Steve Klein Jr. said. “There was a little bit of pace and they weren’t able to just kind of get themselves set all the time, and so we were able to kind of beat it down the quarter a little bit. But we also did a little bit better job of kind of executing, and then with no days of prep against something like that, it’s a little bit difficult.”
The offensive surge was enough for the Thunderbirds to take a three-point lead into the final minute, but four straight misses from the line kept the door ajar for the Dragons.
With less than 20 seconds remaining and nursing the three-point lead, Klein decided to play the foul game to prevent a 3-point attempt. Pokorski went 2-for-2 all three of his trips, but after the brutal start, the Thunderbirds hit their last six attempts as well — two apiece from Eldon Turner, Jacob Arop and Jackson — to maintain their lead.
“No matter what for us, if we’re up three and we’re under 20 seconds, we’re going to play the foul game,” Klein said. “All year long we’ve been pretty good from the free-throw line. Tonight we weren’t, obviously, but I’m still going to take my chances on getting to the free-throw line, making free throws and finishing games.”
Gretna opted for a deep pass after Jackson’s shots with 4.2 remaining, making it tough for Bellevue West to foul again. Kade Cook caught it near halfcourt and pitched it to a sprinting Alex Wilcoxson for the off-balance pull-up 3 at the buzzer, but he couldn’t get it to fall.
Shot at the buzzer doesn’t fall. Bellevue West wins. #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/MCPVJ4Hs9F
— Jacob Padilla (@JacobPadilla_) February 17, 2024
Bellevue West held Gretna to 23 points on 7-of-21 from the field with nine turnovers in the second half after the Dragons shot over 50% with just two giveaways in the first half.
“We did a lot better job of paying attention off the ball and we didn’t let guys just slip wide open, because we got caught staring a couple times,” Klein said. “Credit to Gretna, they move without the ball really well, and so if you’re staring at the ball, they’re going to kill you, and they did in the first half. We did a lot better job in the second half on that plus we did a lot better job just guarding the dribble and making them shoot hard shots over hands, and we were able to get enough misses where we were able to rebound the ball and go the other direction.”
Coach Speak
The Thunderbirds pulled out an 82-76 win over Papillion-La Vista South on Friday night before taking down the Dragons on Saturday, finishing the regular season on a 20-game winning streak.
“It’s a good confidence-builder for sure to be in these games because you know you’re going to be in these games when you get down to the end of the year,” Klein said. “But I’m most impressed with our toughness, and how well these guys stuck together because it was it was dire there for a little bit. We weren’t able to make a shot and we weren’t really guarding great. They just stuck together and stuck with the plan and were able to find a way to get it done, and I just super proud of that because that’s something that’s bigger than basketball.”
Standout Performers
Jackson, the South Dakota State commit, led Bellevue West with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting while grabbing six rebounds. Turner added 16 points, shooting 6-of-11 from the field including 2-of-3 from deep with five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Arop only finished with six points and five rebounds but made a couple of big plays in the fourth quarter, including drawing a charge with 26.1 remaining.
After a 2-for-13 start from the free-throw line as a team, those three seniors hit the team’s last six.
“Jacob was able to hit two big ones after missing four in a row,” Klein said. “I was just trying to get them to relax because they were so uptight. I’m like ‘Hey, relax, OK? Smile, step up, be confident and hit the shots. It’s all right.’ So they did enough, and now we can focus on what we need to focus on for the postseason.”
Pokorski went a perfect 10-for-10 at the foul line, finishing with a game-high 27 points on 8-of-14 from the field. Fellow senior Kade Cook notched a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, including five on the offensive end.
