Basketball Preview: Wabash Apaches vs. Frankton Eagles
The Wabash Apaches will be playing in front of their home fans against the Frankton Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Wabash will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
Even though Wabash has not done well against the Kings recently (they were 1-6 in their previous seven matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Wabash walked away with a 57-44 victory over the Kings. Given Wabash's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 143rd, while the Kings are ranked 303rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Wabash got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Izaak Wright out in front who scored 16 points along with five blocks. Wright has been hot recently, having posted 16 or more points the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Trevor Daughtry, who scored 14 points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Frankton unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Thursday. Their tough 62-40 loss to Hamilton Heights might stick with them for a while. Frankton has not had much luck with the Huskies recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.
Frankton's loss came about despite a quality game from Joey Wright, who scored 16 points. Austin Nunley was another key contributor, scoring four points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Wabash is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season. As for Frankton, their loss ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 12-6.
Tuesday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Wabash have been dynamite from deep this season, having nailed 43.9% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Frankton struggles in that department as they've made 44.7% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Wabash couldn't quite finish off the Eagles when the teams last played back in March of 2019 and fell 57-54. Thankfully for Wabash, Rylan Detling (who scored 23 points along with eight rebounds and three steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
