Basketball Game Preview: Ness City Eagles vs. Ellis Railroaders

The Ness City Eagles will face off against the Ellis Railroaders at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing is sure in Ness City's favor as the team sits on three straight wins at home while Ellis has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.

Last Friday, Ness City didn't have too much breathing room in their match against LaCrosse, but they still walked away with a 48-42 win.

Broxton Gall

Steals

01/17/25 @ Chase	10
02/07/25 vs LaCrosse	7
01/14/25 vs Spearville	6
01/21/25 @ Quinter	4
12/14/24 @ Trego	4
+ 11 more games

Broxton Gall was his usual excellent self, putting up seven points in addition to eight assists and seven steals. He is becoming a predictor of Ness City's success: when he posts at least five steals the team is undefeated (and 5-8 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Drake Woods, who went 5 of 8 to rack up 13 points.

Meanwhile, Ellis was able to grind out a solid victory over Trego on Friday, taking the game 57-48.

Ellis' win came from a few key players Ness City will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Aiden Aschenbrenner, who went 5 for 10 en route to 15 points and five steals. He has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 13 times he's played. Jaren Frickey was another key player, going 6 of 12 on his way to 14 points.

The win got Ness City back to even at 8-8. As for Ellis, their victory bumped their record up to 7-9.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Ness City has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Ellis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.2 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Ness City couldn't quite finish off Ellis in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 and fell 66-63. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Ellis' Toby Honas, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 19 rebounds. Now that Ness City knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.