Basketball Game Preview: Elkhart Wildcats vs. Deerfield Spartans

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Previous Games

01/25/24 - Away	51-48 W
01/19/24 - Neutral	48-44 W
01/10/23 - Home	72-36 W
01/11/22 - Away	72-9 W
01/12/21 - Home	74-37 W
+ 5 more games

Elkhart is 8-2 against Deerfield since January of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Elkhart Wildcats will be playing in front of their home fans against the Deerfield Spartans at 7:00 p.m.

Deerfield is facing Elkhart at the wrong time: Elkhart suffered their first home loss of the season on Friday and they're likely out for redemption. They lost to the Larks at home by a 69-50 margin.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Deerfield). They walked away with a 78-68 victory over Satanta on Friday.

Elkhart better focus on containing Michael Lira and Adriel Clymer as the pair were huge in Deerfield's win. Lira dropped a double-double on 19 points and 15 boards, while Clymer went 9 of 16 on his way to 21 points and five rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Lira a new career-high in steals (four). Cristian Botello was another key player, putting up eight points along with eight assists and five boards.

Deerfield smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in eight consecutive matchups.

Deerfield has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.6 points per game. As for Elkhart, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 4-4.

Elkhart skirted past Deerfield 51-48 in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. Will Elkhart repeat their success, or does Deerfield have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.