Preview: Cedar Vale/Dexter Spartans vs. West Elk Patriots
Two dominant in Nils Behnke and Maddex Moreno are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Cedar Vale/Dexter Spartans just played last night, but they'll still head out to face the West Elk Patriots at 6:00 p.m. on January 16th. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Back in December of 2023, Cedar Vale/Dexter got the win against Oswego by a conclusive 54-28.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up eight more assists than your opponent, a fact West Elk proved on Friday. They enjoyed a cozy 50-35 victory over Argonia.
West Elk's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Martin Shipley, who scored 17 points along with five rebounds and five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Moreno, who scored 16 points along with two steals.
Cedar Vale/Dexter's win was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-3. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.0 points per game. As for West Elk, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season.
Cedar Vale/Dexter came out on top in a nail-biter against West Elk in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, sneaking past 34-32. The rematch might be a little tougher for Cedar Vale/Dexter since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
