Basketball Game Preview: Pieper Warriors vs. Wagner Thunderbirds

Pieper is 0-6 against Wagner since January of 2023 but things could change on Friday. The Warriors will be playing at home against the Thunderbirds at 6:30 p.m. Pieper knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past eight games -- so hopefully Wagner likes a good challenge.

On Tuesday, Pieper was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 77-76 to New Braunfels. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Tuesday (70), the Warriors still had to take the loss.

Wagner not only won on Tuesday, but they posted their biggest win since November 21, 2025 (when they won 83-37). Everything went their way against Boerne as they made off with a 66-46 win. With that victory, the Thunderbirds brought their scoring average up to 50.6 points per game.

Wagner's win came from a few key players that Pieper will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Lance Johnson, who almost dropped a double-double with 13 points and nine boards. That's the most points he has posted since back in November of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Lynol Gillespie, who shot 43% from the field en route to 17 points and five rebounds.

Wagner's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-14. The home victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.7 points over those games. As for Pieper, their loss dropped their record down to 17-7.

Pieper was dealt a bruising 89-61 defeat at the hands of Wagner in their previous matchup back in February of 2025. Thankfully for the Warriors, Marcus Johnson (who dropped a double-double with 31 points and 11 boards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.