The Blair High School boys basketball team drew Griffin blood Tuesday, but Class B No. 6 Gretna East still dominated the Eastern Midlands Conference matchup, 86-48.
A first-period collision with the Bears' Cooper Sorensen split open Carter Craven's eyebrow, causing a brief delay as East officials cleaned up the court.
It was about all that slowed the Griffins down Tuesday, though. They led 20-5 after one period and 39-16 at halftime before scoring 47 more points during the second half.
“We're flushing it,” BHS coach Chris Whitwer said after the loss, explaining how his squad wasn't going to dwell on it. “Gretna East is really good.”
He shared why, too.
“They're very disciplined,” the coach said. “They're loaded with shooters.”
Talan Hovie was the most prolific against the Bears, sinking eight 3-pointers before the end of the third period. He finished with a game-high 30 points, while Cole Edwards notched 10.
Twelve Gretna East players scored points altogether.
“I don't know if they had a kid that didn't score tonight,” Whitwer said.
Freshman Brevin Leggott, meanwhile, scored Blair's team high — 16 points. He made three 3-pointers, including one during a 10-point third quarter.
Senior Easton Bosanek, meanwhile, scored 14 points for the game, including 11 during the final period. Whitwer greeted No. 22 as he came off the court and offered him words of encouragement, expressing how confident the team captain looked shooting the ball late against the Griffins.
“Easton's had a tough season,” the coach said.
The 6-foot-3 guard opened his 12th-grade campaign on the injured list and has bounced around in the lineup ever since, fulfilling different team roles as Blair has traversed the season.
“No matter what his role has been, he has been a positive asset to this team,” Whitwer said. “He's been a true leader.”
The senior's showing against the No. 6 team in Class B, however, was one of his best of the season.
“I can tell you that Easton Bosanek has some of the highest character out of any kid I've ever coached,” Whitwer said.
Their BHS squad was scheduled to play at Omaha Concordia on Thursday and next competes Saturday at Omaha Roncalli. The Bears then close out the regular season Tuesday at Elkhorn.
BHS BASKETBALL LINE SCORE
Tuesday
No. 6 Gretna East 86, Blair 48
BHS (9-10) 5 11 17 15 — 48
GE (14-6) 20 19 26 21 — 86
Scoring: BHS — Brevin Leggott 16, Easton Bosanek 14, Kalan Steinbeck 7, Cooper Sorensen 4, Colin McCabe 2, Alex Just 2, Hayden Daggett 2, Nelson Kosch 1.
GE — Talan Hovie 30, Cole Edwards 10, Drew Rhoades 9, Grant Rice 8, Drayke Brown 7, Connor Levinson 5, Carter Craven 5, Blake Harris 3, Brody Boone 3, Andrew Dearking 2, Jake Hawley 2, Lucas Winterboer 2.
