The North Platte Bulldog and Lady Bulldog basketball teams both advanced to the semifinals of the Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference tournament in Lexington with wins yesterday. The Lady Bulldogs roared to a 15-3 first quarter lead and never looked back in a 59-40 win over Scottsbluff. Kaitlyn Harvey led three Lady Bulldogs in double figures with 15 points. In the boys’ first round game, North Platte avenged an earlier loss to McCook by knocking off the Bison 58-49. Four Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by Kade Erickson’s career high 18 points. In the semifinals tonight, the Lady Bulldogs will take on Lexington at 5:30, while the Bulldog boys will face Norfolk at 7:15. ESPN Radio 1410 will carry both games, with coverage beginning prior to the girls game at 5:15.

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.