Basketball Game Preview: Elm Creek Buffaloes vs. Axtell Wildcats

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Previous Games

01/11/24 - Away	52-37 W
01/31/23 - Neutral	66-37 W
01/12/23 - Home	65-44 W
01/13/22 - Away	45-39 W
02/23/21 - Home	58-49 W
+ 5 more games

Elm Creek is 9-1 against Axtell since January of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Elm Creek Buffaloes will be playing in front of their home fans against the Axtell Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. The timing is sure in Elm Creek's favor as the squad sits on 14 straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Axtell has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.

Elm Creek will head into Tuesday's contest hoping to keep the good times rolling: they had to skate by with only a two-point margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 33-point drubbing they dealt Wilcox-Hildreth on Tuesday. Elm Creek blew past Wilcox-Hildreth, posting a 65-32 victory. The matchup marked the Buffaloes' most dominant win of the season so far.

Quin Oberg and Blake Erickson were among the main playmakers for Elm Creek as the former went 8 for 11 en route to 21 points in addition to five rebounds and five steals and the latter went 5 of 10 on his way to 12 points along with eight boards and five steals. Another player making a difference was Jeremiah Shoemaker, who posted six points along with eight rebounds and three steals.

Elm Creek was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January of 2024.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Axtell took on Alma on Saturday. Axtell took a blow against Alma, falling 64-32. The game marked the Wildcats' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Elm Creek will have to contain Brandt Modlin as he made an impact in Axtell's last game. He almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Halvorsen, who earned seven points and three steals.

Axtell's defeat dropped their record down to 4-8. As for Elm Creek, their victory bumped their record up to 10-2.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Elm Creek has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 27.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Axtell struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Elm Creek strolled past Axtell in their previous matchup back in January of 2024 by a score of 52-37. Will Elm Creek repeat their success, or does Axtell have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.