Preview: Peetz Bulldogs vs. Fleming Wildcats
Peetz and Fleming are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2019, but not for long. The Peetz Bulldogs will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Fleming Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on January 19th. Hopefully Peetz is not getting complacent, as they presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Fleming in Colorado (Peetz is ranked 118th, while Fleming is ranked 264th).
Even though Haxtun scored an imposing 57 points on Friday, Peetz still came out on top. Peetz took their match against Haxtun 67-57.
Noah Naegele was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 33 points and 11 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Chance Seglke, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 14 assists.
Meanwhile, Fleming's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their third straight loss. They took a 43-24 bruising from Prairie. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Fleming has scored all season.
Fleming's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of David Betley, who scored six points along with ten rebounds, and Will Bornhoft who scored eight points.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Fleming struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Peetz is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 8-2 record this season. As for Fleming, they bumped their record down to 3-6 with that defeat, which was their fourth straight on the road.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's contest: Peetz have been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 44.8% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Fleming, though, as they've only made 31.9% of their threes per game this season. Given Peetz's sizeable advantage in that area, Fleming will need to find a way to close that gap.
Peetz was able to grind out a solid win over Fleming in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, winning 53-42. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Fleming's Nolan Japp, who scored 15 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be that much easier for Peetz to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
