Chalk held at the boys basketball Metro Conference Tournament at Bellevue West on Saturday as all eight higher seeds won.
A number of players showed out as No. 1 Omaha Westside, No. 8 Omaha North, No. 5 Omaha Westview, No. 4 Omaha Creighton Prep, No. 3 Millard North, No. 6 Papillion-La Vista South, No. 7 Millard South and No. 2 Bellevue West all advanced to Monday’s quarterfinals.
Top Five Performances
Omaha Westview SR Tayvin Zephier Murphy
The top performance of the day belonged to the 6-foot-5 senior out of Omaha Westview. He posted the first 40-point game in the Metro Tournament since Millard North’s Saint Thomas in 2021.
He scored 21 in the first half and 17 in the fourth to finish with 40 on 13-of-18 from the field including 2-of-6 from deep and a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line. He added four boards, an assist, a steal and a block in the Wolverine win. It’s a new career-high for Zephier-Murphy, and a single-game record for the school in its third year.
Zephier-Murphy is arguably the most explosive athlete playing basketball at the high school level in Nebraska and put that on full display with an alley-oop on a set play out of a timeout. He got to the rim at will in the fourth, absorbing contact to finish, draw fouls or both (three and-ones in the fourth, six in the game including a four-point play).
Trey Griggs added 16 points on 70% shooting while Omaha Bryan transfer Amir Martin chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds in his Westview debut as the Wolverines beat Elkhorn South 84-71 to advance.
Papillion-La Vista South SR Bryson Bahl
The 6-11 matchup produced the best game of the day as both Papio South and Millard West knocked down 11 3-pointers, but the South Dakota State commit made some big plays down the stretch to help the Titans pull out the victory.
Bahl finished with 33 points on 10-of-16 from the field (4-of-8 from 3) and 9-of-10 from the foul line while grabbing 11 rebounds (four offensive), dishing out three assists and nabbing three steals.
He scored 10 points in the fourth including a key 3 in a big moment, scoring from all over the floor throughout the game. It’s his fourth 30-point outing of the season (in six games played).
Sophomore Levi Webb scored 18 points, Reece Kircher added 13 points and five assists and Jayden Herrera chipped in 12 including 10 in the fourth as the Titans bested the Wildcats 83-77.
Millard South JR Koby Meyers
Meyers outscored Omaha Central by himself in the first half en route to a career-high 31 points. He shot 13-of-17 from the field including 4-of-8 from 3 and added seven steals, three rebounds and two assists.
Six of his seven steals put points directly on the board, including three Meyers dunks. His length, anticipation and hustle wreaked havoc on the Eagles’ offense, and he found ways to put points on the board in the halfcourt as well. He had a handful of free throws rim out or the day could have been even bigger for him.
DaShawn Prince added 13 points, six rebounds and four assists against his former school as the Patriots moved on with a 78-50 win over the Eagles.
Omaha Westside SR Tyson Odvody, JR Emre Gedik and FR Lee Robinson
Omaha Westside is the top seed, the No. 1 team in the state and one of two unbeaten teams in Class A in large part because of the team’s depth and balance, and that was on full display early on Saturday as a trio stepped up to outscore their opponent on their own.
Odvody nearly notched a double-double with 19 points on 8-of-12 from the field (1-of-3 from 3) and 2-of-4 from the line, nine rebounds (including four offensive), two blocks, a steal and an assist. The 6-foot-7 Morningside commit was a steady presence, scoring four, five, six and four in the four quarters to get to his game-high total.
Gedik started and finished strong to total 17 points on 5-of-7 from the field (1-of-3 from deep) and 6-of-9 from the line, four rebounds and two steals. Gedik did a good job of attacking the basket and creating contact, carving out space around the basket to score or draw fouls. He also produced the highlight of the game — the dunk captured in the cover photo for this piece.
Finally, the freshman point guard stuffed the stat sheet. Robinson racked up 16 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals in his first career double-double, shooting 5-of-10 from the field (3-of-5 from 3) and 3-of-6 from the foul line. Robinson is relentless at the point of attack defensively, showed his willingness to mix it up in the paint on the glass and made some really nice plays for his teammates.
Westside knocked off Bellevue East 67-49 to start the day.
Omaha North JR Jerri’on Williams
The Vikings avenged a loss to the Monarchs in their final game before the moratorium, and the junior guard was the biggest reason why. Williams didn’t play against Papillion-La Vista in the first meeting but was back in the lineup on Saturday and went off for 23 points, five rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block.
He shot 10-of-17 from the field including 2-of-5 from 3 and split his only pair of free throws. Williams made good decisions for the most part and used his physical tools to convert some impressive plays around the rim. He got his teammates easy looks with good passes in traffic and competed at a high level defensively.
Amillio Coppage-Wheeler added 10 points and four boards while Millard South transfer Sam Cooper chipped in nine points in his Viking debut as North took down Papillion-La Vista 63-52.
Other Notable Winning Performances
>> Creighton Prep JR Conner Peters: 20 PTS, 7-11 FG (6-8 3G), 3 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL; 77-43 W vs. Omaha Benson
>> Millard North JR Coriahnn Gallatin: 17 PTS, 6-10 FG (5-8 3FG), 4 AST; 70-42 W vs. Omaha Buena Vista
>> Millard North SR Derek Rollins: 15 PTS, 7-14 FG (1-3 3FG), 14 REB (6 OFF), 2 AST, 2 BLK
>> Bellevue West SO Bryce Johnson: 18 PTS, 6-14 FG (2-7 3FG), 4-4 FT, 7 STL, 6 REB (3 OFF), 5 AST; 65-55 W vs. Omaha Burke
Standout Performances in a Loss
>> Elkhorn South SR Cooper Mroczek: 32 pts, 10-21 FG (5-9 3FG), 7-8 FT, 12 REB (3 OFF), 3 AST, 1 STL
>> Millard West SR Jayden Kozney: 23 pts, 7-13 FG (4-7 3FG), 5-8 FT, 5 REB, 1 AST
>> Millard West SR Reece Carson: 22 pts, 8-17 FG (4-10 3FG), 2-4 FT, 8 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL
>> Omaha Burke SR Nate Vereen-Burton: 19 PTS, 6-11 FG (3-5 3FG), 4-4 FT, 6 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL, 1 BLK
>> Omaha Central SR Ike Ackerman: 16 PTS, 6-10 FG (1-2 3FG), 3-3 FT, 11 REB, 2 STL, 1 AST
>> Bellevue East SR Isaac Gore: 15 PTS, 6-8 FG, 3-6 FT, 12 REB, 3 STL, 1 BLK
