As the season winds down to its end the Warriors boys basketball team has one final task going up against the fourth-ranked Omaha Central Eagles. With a 19 point win against Lincoln Southeast, the Warriors look to continue their momentum as their team finally gets healthy. Seniors Carl Brown and Cal Weidemann, who had been out with injuries, will both suit up and be available options against the Eagles. On the other side of the court, Omaha Central, who are 18-3 on the season, is just ahead of Westside in the NSAA Wild Card point standings. These standings determine district placement and today’s game will be the last shot for either team to pull ahead in the standings. With both teams with fully healthy lineups, the game looks to be a precursor to what could possibly happen at the state tournament.

With the overtime, buzzer-beater against the top-ranked Millard North last night, the Eagles are riding a seven-game winning streak coming into today’s game. The Eagles are led by senior guards Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Max Polk who are both averaging double-digit points per game. Head Coach Jim Simons knows the talent that will be on the opposing bench but trusts his players in big-time games like this.

“Those two are excellent guards and we have played against them a lot,” Simons said. “It should be a very good match-up, we have several very good guards aswell. You aren’t going to shut those guys down you just have to make it difficult for them and make them earn their points.” 

In their last three games, the Warriors have seemed to struggle against teams that they would normally beat. Aside from the win on Friday, two games against below .500 teams have both looked to be sluggish on the Warrirors’ part. With both Weidemann and Brown back combined with a solid week of practice, Simons feels the team is back to where they need to be.

“We appear to be healthy this week which we haven’t been for the past couple of games,” Simons said. “As the season progresses there will be some peaks and valleys and you’re playing teams much like us fighting for playoff positioning.” 

Throughout this season, Westside has had arguably the toughest schedule by NSAA Wild Card. With 6 Division 1 games, the most of any team in Class A, the Warriors are used to playing in large pressure situations. Averaging 19.2 points in those games, Jadin Booth feels that these matchups have been good learning experiences and will help them be successful in the playoffs.

 “Using our experience, trust in what we’ve learned in those tough losses and trying to get through the edge for [Central],” Booth said. “Trust in our teammates, trust in each other, playing together and hopefully we’ll come out with the will.”

Tip-off will be at 5:15 at Westside High School as the regular season ends with one of the best matchups of the season. The game can also be watched live above and on Warrior Television.