In back to back years, the Westside varsity basketball team will host a district final. After ending the regular season 16-6 and taking the first seed in the NSAA District A-4 Tournament, the Warriors faced the Omaha North Vikings on Saturday night. The Vikings, who had come off of a win the night before against Omaha Bryan in a play-in game were led by star forward Wal Chuol and guard Keshaun Williams. 

Although both Chuol and Williams put up double figures on the night, Westside’s Jadin Booth and PJ Ngambi combined for 49 points on the night, and the Warriors advanced to the district final with a 72-66 win. Throughout the night, neither team had a lead larger than eight and the fast pace of play kept both defenses on their toes. Head Coach Jim Simons felt that when his team was able to work the fast pace to their advantage, and that’s when they were able to get back control of the ball game.

“I think we got the second half more up and down as the first half was a kind of low scoring grinder,” Simons said. “We were close a couple of times of getting separation. That little bit of distance that we got was through playing fast, looking ahead and making shots in transition.”

After not making a single three-point shot the entire game against Omaha Bryan the night before, the Vikings, led by Keshaun Williams and Evan Decker, were 39% from beyond the arch against the Warriors. Westside head coach Jim Simons said that the Warriors were prepared for sharpshooting despite Friday’s struggles.

“They’ve not been a team that has shot it well over the course of the season from the perimeter and I told our guys going in that I thought they’d give us their best shot and they certainly did,” Simons said. “We knew they were guys that were capable shooters. They hadn’t shot it that well throughout the course of the year, but credit to them and we just needed to do a better job of closing out and making their shots more difficult.” 

The Warriors have played in 6 different quad one games and to Jadin Booth, who had 30 points and 8 rebounds on the night, the team’s experience in these situations helped them come out with the win.

“Just coming together. I think we’re one of the most experienced teams in the state. So I think having that veteran leadership and making plays at the end kind of put us over the edge and be able to win,” Booth said.

With the win, the Warriors will host the Monarchs of Papillion-La Vista on Tuesday night. With a chance to send the team to the state tournament, all student tickets are free for the 7 p.m. game. Tuesday night’s district final will also be able to be watched live on Warrior Television.