Basketball Game Preview: Ponca Indians vs. Norfolk Catholic Knights

The Ponca Indians will head out to square off against the Norfolk Catholic Knights at 7:45 p.m. on Friday.

Ponca is headed into Friday's contest hungry for a win as their strong season has now been derailed by two straight defeats. They received a blow on Saturday as they fell 46-31 to Cedar Catholic. The game marked the Indians' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Meanwhile, Norfolk Catholic strolled past Guardian Angels Central Catholic with points to spare on Saturday, taking the game 62-47. The Knights haven't had any issues with the Bluejays recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.

Norfolk Catholic's win came from a few key players Ponca will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Gavin Schutt, who almost dropped a double-double with 14 points and nine boards. He is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Max Hammond, who went 6 for 14 en route to 18 points and six boards.

Norfolk Catholic's victory bumped their record up to 15-6. As for Ponca, their loss dropped their record down to 14-7.

Ponca was taken down by Norfolk Catholic 62-23 in their previous meeting back in March of 2024. Thankfully for Ponca, Nolan Fennessy (who dropped a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds) 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.