Basketball Game Preview: Lincoln County Panthers vs. Nitro Wildcats

Lincoln County hasn't had much luck against Nitro recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. A feisty cat fight will be fought when the Panthers challenge the Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Lincoln County is headed into Saturday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their sixth straight game on Saturday. They were outmatched by Cabell Midland and fell 92-33. The Panthers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 50-18.

Eli Smith

Points

02/01/25 vs Cabell Midland	22
01/28/25 @ Winfield	17
01/22/25 @ Sissonville	24
01/17/25 vs Chapmanville Regional	19

The losing side was boosted by Eli Smith, who went 10 of 23 to rack up 22 points and five boards. The match was his fourth in a row with at least 17 points.

Even though they lost, Lincoln County was working as a unit and finished the game with ten assists. This was only their eighth loss (out of nine games) when they've passed the ball that well.

Meanwhile, Nitro faced Chapmanville Regional in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. Nitro took a hard 70-54 fall against Chapmanville Regional.

Nitro's defeat was their first in the region, dropping their region record down to 6-1 and their overall record down to 10-4. As for Lincoln County, their loss dropped their record down to 1-11.

Lincoln County took a serious blow against Nitro when the teams last played back in February of 2024, falling 77-42. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Lincoln County was down 43-15.