Preview: North Newton Spartans vs. Delphi Community Oracles
The North Newton Spartans will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against the Delphi Community Oracles at 6:30 p.m. Hopefully North Newton focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 15 on January 6th.
North Newton struggled with assists on January 6th (Twin Lakes had seven more) and sadly the final score reflected it. North Newton received a tough blow as they fell 64-48 to Twin Lakes.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Evan Gagnon, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 13 rebounds. Gagnon is absolutely dominating the point category: he's posted at least 15 every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Joe Stalewski, who scored nine points.
Meanwhile, Delphi Community had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Saturday. They snuck past Winamac with a 57-53 win.
Walker Jones and Kaydn McAtee were among the main playmakers for Delphi Community as the former scored 19 points and the latter scored 26 points along with five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points McAtee has scored all season. Levi Coghill was another key contributor, scoring six points.
North Newton's loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-5. As for Delphi Community, they pushed their record up to 5-9 with that win, which was their third straight at home.
Tuesday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy game: North Newton have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 27.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Delphi Community struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 31.5 rebounds per game. Given North Newton's sizeable advantage in that area, Delphi Community will need to find a way to close that gap.
North Newton couldn't quite finish off Delphi Community when the teams last played back in January of 2023 and fell 34-31. Will North Newton have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
