Basketball Game Preview: Bishop Heelan Catholic Crusaders vs. Lincoln Lynx

Bishop Heelan Catholic is 2-8 against Lincoln since January of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Bishop Heelan Catholic Crusaders will venture away from home to face off against the Lincoln Lynx at 7:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Bishop Heelan Catholic is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Jefferson: they outscored them in every quarter. Bishop Heelan Catholic was the clear victor by a 78-56 margin over Jefferson on Friday. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' Iowa basketball rankings (they are ranked 117th, while the Yellowjackets are ranked 271st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Lincoln fought the good fight in their overtime game against Sioux City East on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 71-66 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Black Raiders. The loss put an end to the Lynx's undefeated start to the season.

Bishop Heelan Catholic will need to focus on slowing down Creighton Bracker, one of several Lincoln players who made an impact when they last played. He dropped a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. The contest was Bracker's fourth in a row with at least 15 points. Jake Babbitt was another key player, going 8 for 10 en route to 13 points and five boards.

Even though they lost, Lincoln smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in five consecutive matches.

The win was the third in a row for Bishop Heelan Catholic, bringing their record for this year to 9-11. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.0 points over those games. As for Lincoln, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 17-1.

Bishop Heelan Catholic lost to Lincoln on the road by a decisive 60-41 margin in their previous meeting back in January. Can Bishop Heelan Catholic avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.