Basketball Game Preview: Norfolk Panthers vs. Lincoln North Star Navigators

The Norfolk Panthers are taking a road trip to face off against the Lincoln North Star Navigators at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Norfolk is coming into the match on a six-game losing streak.

Norfolk is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Lincoln Northeast on Monday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Norfolk was dealt an 82-49 defeat at the hands of Lincoln Northeast. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 225th, while the Rockets are ranked 29th).

Despite the loss, Norfolk got top-tier performance from Drew Streich, who posted 21 points. The game was Streich's third in a row with at least ten points. Damien Jones was another key player, putting up six points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Lincoln North Star ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They snuck past Papillion-LaVista with a 64-59 win.

Norfolk's defeat dropped their record down to 2-10. As for Lincoln North Star, their victory bumped their record up to 9-3.

Norfolk lost to Lincoln North Star on the road by a decisive 58-41 margin when the teams last played back in December of 2023. Can Norfolk avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.