Preview: Wabash Apaches vs. Rochester Zebras
Wabash is 2-7 against Rochester since February of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Wabash Apaches will head out on the road to face off against the Rochester Zebras at 7:00 p.m. Wabash is coming into the contest hot, having won their last five games.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 8 to 1 on the offensive boards, a fact Wabash proved on Tuesday. They came out on top against Frankton by a score of 55-42. That's two games straight that Wabash has won by exactly 13 points.
It was another big night for Trevor Daughtry, who scored 14 points along with five assists and four steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last five games he's played. Izaak Wright was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Rochester's good fortune finally ran out on Saturday. They fell just short of Lewis Cass by a score of 46-44.
Despite the loss, Rochester got a solid performance out of Tanner Reinartz, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine rebounds. Another player making a difference was Bryce Baugher, who scored eight points along with seven rebounds.
Wabash has been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 12 games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season. As for Rochester, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-7.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Wabash have been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 43.8% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Rochester struggles in that department as they've made 44.3% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Wabash and Rochester were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, but Wabash came up empty-handed after a 62-61 defeat. Thankfully for Wabash, Paul Leasure (who scored 30 points) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
