North Newton is on a four-game streak of home losses, Frankfort an 11-game streak of away losses dating back to last season, but someone's luck will change on Thursday. The North Newton Spartans will take on the Frankfort Hot Dogs in a tournament on Thursday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
North Newton is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Rossville on Monday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. North Newton was beaten by Rossville 63-33. While losing is never fun, the Spartans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 438th, while the Hornets are ranked 203rd).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jared Kutsch, who posted nine points. Another player making a difference was Nicholas Bartrom, who put up six points and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Frankfort scored the most points they've had this season on Monday, but it wasn't enough. They fell just short of Winamac by a score of 61-59.
Like Frankfort, they lost despite seeing results from several players. Rj Cornman led the charge by going 8 of 13 on his way to 19 points and five rebounds. Cornman continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Taran Emery, who went 5 of 7 on his way to 15 points.
Frankfort's loss dropped their record down to 0-8. As for North Newton, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 0-8.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: North Newton has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 21.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Frankfort struggles in that department as they've been averaging 22.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
North Newton lost to Frankfort at home by a decisive 67-49 margin in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. Will North Newton 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.
