Basketball Game Preview: St. Patrick's Irish vs. Elm Creek Buffaloes

The St. Patrick's Irish will face off against the Elm Creek Buffaloes at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

St. Patrick's is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Grand Island Central Catholic on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. St. Patrick's lost 72-46 to Grand Island Central Catholic. The Irish were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 39-19.

Meanwhile, Elm Creek had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.7 points) and they went ahead and made it eight on Tuesday. They blew past the Buffaloes 61-34. That looming 61-34 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Elm Creek yet this season.

St. Patrick's better keep an eye on Quin Oberg. He was instrumental in Elm Creek's win, going 14 of 23 on his way to 29 points in addition to six steals and five boards. The game was Oberg's fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Caleb Reiter, who posted 14 points.

Elm Creek smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in three consecutive contests.

Elm Creek's victory was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-1. As for St. Patrick's, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-3.

St. Patrick's was able to grind out a solid win over Elm Creek when the teams last played back in December of 2023, winning 52-41. Will St. Patrick's repeat their success, or does Elm Creek have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.