Basketball Recap: Mehki Mcneal's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Overland over Smoky Hill

If Overland was riding high fresh off their 72-47 takedown of Cherokee Trail last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Overland Trailblazers took a 64-54 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Smoky Hill Buffaloes on Wednesday. The Trailblazers have struggled against the Buffaloes recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive lost matchup.

Several Trailblazers players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Mehki Mcneal, who posted 12 points and five boards. Another player making a difference was Tj Manuel, who scored 12 points.

Even though they lost, Overland smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in three consecutive games.

Smoky Hill's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Carter Basquez led the charge by dropping a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Basquez has become a key player for Smoky Hill: the team is undefeated when he posts at least ten boards, but 8-9 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaylan Graham, who had 19 points along with five rebounds and three steals.

Overland's loss dropped their record down to 8-12. As for Smoky Hill, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a massive bump to their 11-9 record this season.

Overland wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 45-36 victory against Arapahoe on the 14th. As for Smoky Hill, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 78-45 win against Mullen on the 14th.