The battle of the “Eastside” was set for January 23, 2024 in the Lincoln East home gym. The Spartans girls and boys’ basketball teams were looking for big city-wide wins over the Southeast Knights, and the Knights were looking to continue their stride to the top of the state-wide leaderboard. All varsity teams wore green for mental health awareness, sponsored by the Lincoln East Hope Squad. Students from both schools wore green, as well as parents and administrators. Both teams were within ten points at half time, but never managed to overcome the deficit. Ultimately, both the Spartan girls and boys team fell short to the Knights, 50-39 (girls) and 57 – 40 (boys).

The varsity girls basketball team falls to 4-8 on the year. Senior Keatyn Musiel says her team can learn a lot from this loss.

“Even though the outcome is not what we wanted, we understand that there was more to that game than just 35 minutes of basketball or a win or a loss,” Musiel said. “We will keep putting in the work and finding our way throughout the rest of the season.”

The Spartan boys fall to 5-7 on the season, with only 3 home games remaining. Senior Connor Johnson is hopeful about the rest of the season his team can have.

“Our goals are just to keep getting better every day, every game,” Johnson said. “We have learned to stick together no matter what, and we’ll see where that takes us.”

The Spartan basketball teams are back in action back home in the Lincoln East gym vs. Grand Island on January 29, 2024.