Basketball Game Preview: Newman Grove/St. Edward Panthers vs. Central Valley Cougars

A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Newman Grove/St. Edward Panthers challenge the Central Valley Cougars at 6:00 p.m. on Monday... Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Last Thursday, Newman Grove/St. Edward strolled past Heartland Lutheran with points to spare, taking the game 49-31.

Anthony Reader was his usual excellent self, going 10 for 23 en route to 27 points along with seven rebounds and five steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Newman Grove/St. Edward's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Zander Jarecki, who posted seven points in addition to seven boards and five assists.

Newman Grove/St. Edward was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Heartland Lutheran only racked up seven assists.

Meanwhile, Central Valley entered their tilt with Anselmo-Merna on Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They were the clear victor by a 61-38 margin over the Coyotes. The Cougars have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 23 points or more this season.

Central Valley had a senior duo take command as Zaden Wolf went 5 of 9 on his way to 12 points and five rebounds and Taesian Soto had 11 points and six assists. That's the most assists Soto has posted since back in February of 2024. Another player making a difference was Zevan Wolf, who scored seven points and seven boards.

Central Valley is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.1 points per game. As for Newman Grove/St. Edward, the win got them back to even at 6-6.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Newman Grove/St. Edward has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Central Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.