Basketball Game Preview: Axtell Wildcats vs. Alma Cardinals

Having just played yesterday, the Axtell Wildcats will get right back to it and host the Alma Cardinals at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Axtell has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Alma will arrive with eight straight victories.

On Friday, Axtell came up short against Sumner-Eddyville-Miller and fell 52-39. That's two games in a row now that the Wildcats have lost by exactly 13 points.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Alma over Franklin in every quarter on their way to victory on Thursday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Alma blew Franklin out of the water with a 62-20 final score. The Cardinals have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matchups by 23 points or more this season.

Axtell better focus on containing Zavier Mitchell and Tucker Biskup as the pair were huge in Alma's win. Mitchell went 8 for 9 on his way to 16 points in addition to six boards and six steals, while Biskup went 7 of 12 on his way to 17 points. The contest was Biskup's third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Titus Epp, who posted seven points.

Alma pushed their record up to 10-1 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 27 points. As for Axtell, their loss dropped their record down to 4-7.

Axtell and Alma were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, but Axtell came up empty-handed after a 51-50 defeat. Will Axtell have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.