Basketball Recap: Norfolk Takes Loss Despite Strong Efforts from Drew Streich and Alex Makshantsev

It was a proper cat-fight when Norfolk faced off against South Sioux City on Saturday. The Norfolk Panthers fell just short of the South Sioux City Cardinals by a score of 58-55. The Panthers just can't catch a break and have now endured five defeats in a row.

Norfolk's loss came despite strong showings from Alex Makshantsev and Drew Streich. Makshantsev went 8 of 10 en route to 18 points, while Streich went 8 of 18 on his way to 17 points along with six assists and five boards. The dominant performance gave Streich a new career-high in assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Damien Jones, who posted eight points.

They weren't the only one working in the assists department: Norfolk was working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as South Sioux City only racked up 14 assists.

South Sioux City's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jaden Painter, who went 8 of 15 on his way to 19 points and six boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Paul Turner, who put up 11 points in addition to six assists and five steals.

Norfolk's loss dropped their record down to 2-9. As for South Sioux City, they moved to 5-8 with that victory, which also ended their three-game losing streak.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Norfolk will take on Lincoln Northeast at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. Lincoln Northeast knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past ten matches -- so hopefully Norfolk likes a good challenge. As for South Sioux City, they will venture away from home to face off against Oakland-Craig at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.