The Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference boys and girls basketball tournaments open this afternoon in Lexington. Last year, the North Platte Bulldog boys finished as runners-up, falling to Norfolk in the final, while the Lady Bulldogs defeated McCook in the fifth place game. This year both North Platte teams will look to improve upon those finishes. At 2 PM today, the Lady Bulldogs take on Scottsbluff. The Lady Cats have struggled to a 2-4 start, while the Lady Bulldogs are 3-4. The Bulldog boys take the court for their first round matchup at 3:45. They’ll take on a McCook team that bested them 58-52 at the Dawghouse earlier this season. The Bulldogs are 3-4 while the Bison are 5-1. ESPN Radio 1410 will have all the action from the GNAC Tournament, beginning with pregame coverage at 1:45.

The North Platte Bulldogs boys basketball team will head into Christmas on a two-game winning streak after knocking off Lincoln East 47-44 at the Dawghouse last night. In a tight game throughout, the Bulldogs fell behind 35-32 early in the fourth quarter but battled back to regain the advantage, and Jack Kenny hit four free throws in the final minute to ice the game. Trevor Schramm led three Bulldogs in double figures with 15 points. The Bulldogs are now 3-4 on the season. In the other game at the Dawghouse last night, the Lady Bulldogs fell to the Lady Spartans of Lincoln East, 45-31. The Lady Bulldogs fell behind 11-2 after one quarter and never recovered. Ashten Hernandez’s 8 points led the team in their loss. The Lady Bulldogs fall to 3-4. The GNAC Tournament starts next Wednesday in Lexington.

A North Platte High School athletic record fell on Saturday at the Bellevue East wrestling dual tournament. Bulldog senior Zach Denney went 5-0 on the day to break the school’s record for individual wins as a wrestler. Denney, who wrestles at 145 pounds for the Bulldogs, now has 123 career victories. He and the Bulldogs defeated Bellevue West, Omaha Westside, Lincoln Northeast and Lincoln High, while losing to Bellevue East at the tournament. In other Bulldog athletic action from the weekend, the Bulldog girls and boys basketball teams suffered two losses each, both falling at Lincoln Southeast on Friday and at home against Millard West on Saturday, and the girls and boys swimming teams each finished second out of four teams at the McCook Invite on Friday.

The North Platte Bulldog boys and girls basketball teams went to Hastings last night, and each came back with victories over the Tigers. The Lady Bulldogs overcame a four-point halftime deficit, scoring 31 second-half points to topple the Lady Tigers 43-32. Ashten Hernandez had 12 points and Breezy Jahnke scored all 10 of her points in the second half to help the Lady Bulldogs move to 2-0. In the boys game, the Bulldogs also found themselves behind at the halftime break, but they would score 13 of the game’s final 14 points and hold the Tigers to just one point in the fourth quarter in a 33-25 victory. Drew Callaghan was the lone Bulldog in double-figures with 11 points. The Bulldogs are now 1-1 on the season. North Platte’s hoopsters are back in action Friday night at Lincoln Southeast.

The basketball games between North Platte and Hastings that were originally scheduled for Saturday have been rescheduled for tonight. The girls varsity game will tip at 5:30, followed by the boys game at 7. ESPN Radio 1410 will have the action, with pregame coverage starting at 5:15.

The North Platte Bulldogs volleyball team rolled over McCook in three sets last night in McCook, 25-17, 25-17, 25-10. The Bulldogs earned their 11^th win of the season against 16 defeats. The sweep moves North Platte’s record against GNAC teams to 4-3 in advance of Saturday’s GNAC Tournament at the Dawghouse. Tonight, the Bulldogs play their final regular season match at Grand Island. The Bulldogs lost in two sets to the Islanders at a triangular in Grand Island on Saturday. The Islanders, ranked sixth in the latest Class A volleyball poll, are 25-5 on the season and swept that home triangular with wins over the Bulldogs and Kearney. ESPN Radio 1410 has the call of Bulldog volleyball from Grand Island tonight, with coverage beginning following the junior varsity contest at approximately 7 PM.

Tonight on ESPN Radio 1410, it’s North Platte Bulldog volleyball. The Bulldogs visit McCook tonight in a match that was rescheduled from its original date of October 13^th. It’s the final week of the regular season for the Bulldogs, culminating in the GNAC Tournament at the Dawghouse on Saturday. These two conference foes will be meeting for the first time this season. North Platte’s record is 10-16 after straight-set losses to Grand Island and Kearney at a triangular in Grand Island on Saturday. The Bison have a 9-18 record this season. They have been idle since October 15^th, when they lost two matches at a home triangular to Ogallala and Scottsbluff, who North Platte beat last Thursday night. Coverage on ESPN Radio 1410 from McCook will begin following the JV match at approximately 6:30.