Basketball Recap: Heartland Lutheran Takes a Loss

If Heartland Lutheran was riding high fresh off their 71-34 takedown of Palmer last Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Heartland Lutheran Red Hornets took a blow against the Fullerton Warriors on Saturday, falling 66-38. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Red Hornets of the 48-21 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in February of 2024.

Xander Rivera

Field Goal Percentage (Career)

02/08/25 @ Fullerton	57%
01/09/25 @ Riverside	50%
01/30/25 vs Central Valley	45%
01/18/25 vs Elba	45%
01/03/25 @ Ansley/Litchfield	38%

Heartland Lutheran's defeat came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Xander Rivera, who posted eight points. The dominant performance also gave Rivera a new career-high in shooting accuracy (57%). Colton Zehendner was another key player, putting up seven points and seven boards.

Fullerton found their leader in sophomore Kane Wetovick, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds. Wetovick has become a key player for Fullerton: the team is 11-2 when he posts at least ten boards, but 2-4 otherwise. Everett Gleason also deserves some recognition as he posted his first assist of the season.

Heartland Lutheran's loss dropped their record down to 6-14. As for Fullerton, they have been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 12 games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-6 record this season.

Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Heartland Lutheran will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Blue Hill at 6:00 p.m. on February 21st. As for Fullerton, they will square off against Newman Grove/St. Edward at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Fullerton is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.9 points per game this season.