Basketball Game Preview: Spring Creek Spartans vs. Elko Indians

Spring Creek hasn't had much luck against Elko recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Spring Creek Spartans will head out to square off against the Elko Indians at 7:30 p.m. Spring Creek knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past five games -- so hopefully Elko likes a good challenge.

Spring Creek is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Fernley, who was ranked 14th at the time (Spring Creek was ranked 23rd). Spring Creek enjoyed a cozy 59-44 victory over Fernley on Saturday.

Scott Bylund and Tayden Francis were among the main playmakers for Spring Creek as the former went 8 for 13 on his way to 20 points in addition to seven boards and three steals and the latter went 10 of 18 on his way to 24 points. The dominant performance gave Bylund a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Lelanyd Bautista, who posted 12 points.

Meanwhile, Elko didn't have quite enough to beat Dayton on Saturday and fell 32-29. The contest marked the Indians' lowest-scoring match so far this season.

Spring Creek's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-5. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.0 points per game. As for Elko, they have been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last eight games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-9 record this season.

Spring Creek came up short against Elko when the teams last played back in February of 2024, falling 56-46. Can Spring Creek avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.