South Platte is 2-8 against Garden County since January of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The South Platte Blue Knights will be taking part in a tournament against the Garden County Eagles at 3:15 p.m. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
South Platte's tournament run continued when they took on Creek Valley on Thursday. South Platte walked away with a 55-44 win over Creek Valley.
| 01/23/25 vs Creek Valley | 16 |
| 01/21/25 vs Minatare | 17 |
| 01/17/25 @ Banner County | 16 |
South Platte's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Quinten Koenen, who posted 16 points and five steals. The contest was Koenen's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Nathan Jacobs, who scored 12 points in addition to eight boards and four steals.
South Platte smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive rebound total in four consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Garden County humbled Banner County with a 72-40 victory. The Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 30 points or more this season.
South Platte better focus on containing Kade Collins and Kole Fornander as the pair were huge in Garden County's win. Collins went 10 for 19 en route to 23 points and three steals, while Fornander went 7 of 9 on his way to 16 points along with six rebounds and five steals. Fornander 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 Javis Underwood, who had eight points in addition to ten assists and four steals.
South Platte is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a massive bump to their 9-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.8 points per game. As for Garden County, their win bumped their record up to 7-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: South Platte has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.5 boards per game. However, it's not like Garden County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
South Platte came up short against Garden County in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, falling 53-49. Can South Platte avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
