Basketball Recap: Red Cloud Comes Up Short

Red Cloud suffered their biggest loss since December 15, 2023 on Saturday. They were outmatched by the Alma Cardinals and fell 61-33. The contest marked the Warriors' lowest-scoring match so far this season.

Red Cloud's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Conner Rust, who posted eight points and nine rebounds. The dominant performance gave Rust a new career-high in rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Josh Heldt, who earned nine points.

Alma's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Zavier Mitchell led the charge by going 7 of 14 on his way to 17 points along with eight boards and five assists. Tucker Biskup was another key player, going 6 of 10 on his way to 16 points and six rebounds.

This is the second loss in a row for Red Cloud and nudges their season record down to 3-3. As for Alma, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 6-1.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. After both having extra time off, Red Cloud and Rock Hills will shake off the cobwebs and face off against one another at 7:00 p.m. on January 3, 2025. That game will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Gage Ely and Cooper McDill. As for Alma, they will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Medicine Valley at 1:00 p.m. on January 3, 2025. Alma is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.9 points per game this season.