Friday and Saturday, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, the Westside boys varsity basketball team extended its winning streak to eight games, with wins over two ranked opponents.

Friday, the team dismantled then-No. 5 Bellevue West (12-4) 64-39. The Warriors, who were the underdog according to the Omaha World Herald rankings, scored 29 points over the second and third quarters while holding Bellevue West to just 13 in that same span to open up a 17-point lead. In the fourth quarter, Westside was able to cruise to a victory, and had no starters remaining in the game half way through the fourth quarter.

Seniors Kevin Metoyer and Mike Kiger led the Warriors in the game, putting up 14 points each. Senior Sam Wilkinson came up big for the Warriors as well, as he hit his first three three-pointers, and finished with nine on the night.

(For a full video of the game, click here and skip to the one hour and 30 minute mark)

In the team’s second of two games for the week, the Warriors faced then-No. 9 Fremont (10-7). Westside improved to 12-4 by beating Fremont 53-44.

The Warriors opened up an eight-point lead after the first quarter, and held a seven-point advantage after a half, but Fremont was able to cut the deficit to four in the third quarter before the Warriors answered the Fremont run and took an 11-point lead into the fourth, and eventually won by nine.

Senior Michael Herrmann led Westside with 20 points on the night.

While this past weekend was a test for the Warriors, today and tomorrow will give the Warriors a chance to prove they are the best.

Tonight, the Warriors face No. 1 Omaha Central (16-1) at Central. Central’s only loss came against Benson, the No. 2 team. Central features senior Tre’Shawn Thurman, senior Jerek Coles and junior Maguy Agau, three of the top players in the state.

Westside will need to match Central’s athletic, fast-paced offense to win the game.

Tomorrow, Westside will match up against No. 3 Omaha South (13-4) at Westside. South is coming off of a 49-42 loss to Central.

Westside Wired will have a LiveWired presentation of this Saturday’s game. Central will have a stream of the boys and girls basketball games here. Make sure to follow us @westsidewired on Twitter if you can’t make it to the game or watch the stream. Check back next week for recaps of both games.

 Game Predictions

Westside Wired predicts the Warriors to lose to Central 2 votes to 1 and win 2 votes to 1 against Omaha South: Omaha Central is the No. 1 team in the state for good reason. It plays an athletic style of basketball that we feel the Warriors can’t match. Tre’Shawn Thurman is the fastest, most athletic player on the court at all times, and we don’t feel the Warriors will be able to stop him. Against Omaha South, we think the Warriors will rebound, refusing to take a second loss in one weekend. Both games will be close, and fans should certainly show up for both games.