What Happened: On Friday, Feb. 10th, the Bellevue West Thunderbirds defeated the Fremont Tigers 59-42. The win improved the Thunderbirds record to 13-7, while the Tigers fell to 8-12 with the loss. The next night, Bellevue West added another win to the win column to improve to 14-7 after a tight 48-47 win over the Benson Bunnies, while Fremont fell to 8-13 after a 65-58 loss in overtime to Lincoln Southeast.

By the Numbers: Throughout the season, Bellevue West has had a trend of beating teams that they are supposed to get pummeled by (19-1 Creighton Prep, 15-5 Omaha Central), and losing to teams around the .500 mark. Fremont, who entered the game 8-11, hoped to be one of those teams to get the best of Bellevue West. Though close at times, the Tigers of Fremont were unable to prevail. The first half of play was close throughout, and Fremont entered the intermission with a 30-28 lead. In the third quarter Bellevue West took the lead, and went into the fourth with a narrow 42-39 lead. In the fourth quarter, Bellevue West stepped up on every aspect of their game, outscoring the Tigers 17-3 to win 59-42.

For the T-Birds, sophomore Nico Felici lead the game in scoring with 17 points on 7 of 17 attempts. Senior Collin Richards pitched in as well with 14 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc. Leading the game on the boards was junior Kuath Gatkhuath, who finished with 10 boards and 10 points for his fifth double double on the season. For the Tigers, senior Nolan Dillon lead the way with 17 points on 5 of 15 attempts. Junior Zach Woehrer chipped in 14 points from off the bench, shooting 4 of 9 behind the arc.

Next up: On Friday, February 17th, Bellevue West will play the 6-14 Westside Warriors. The next night, the Thunderbirds will play their final home game of the season against the 15-5 Class B Elkhorn South Storm.