The Arcadia/Loup City Rebels will be taking part in a tournament against the Elm Creek Buffaloes at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Arcadia/Loup City has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Elm Creek will arrive with six straight victories.
Last Friday, Arcadia/Loup City was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 50-49 to St. Paul.
| 12/20/24 @ St. Paul | 17 |
| 12/07/24 @ Chambers/Wheeler Central | 15 |
| 12/05/23 @ Anselmo-Merna | 15 |
| 12/17/24 @ Amherst | 13 |
| 12/28/23 vs Bertrand | 10 |
Despite the loss, Arcadia/Loup City had strong showings from Eli Jaixen, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 13 boards, and Max Lewandowski, who almost dropped a double-double on 17 points and nine boards. The dominant performance gave Lewandowski a new career-high in points.
Meanwhile, Elm Creek was able to grind out a solid win over Bertrand on Friday, taking the game 58-50.
Elm Creek's win came from a few key players Arcadia/Loup City will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Quin Oberg, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten boards. He is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed four or more in the last four games he's played. Jeremiah Shoemaker was another key player, dropping a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Elm Creek was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bertrand only posted six assists.
Arcadia/Loup City now has a losing record at 3-4. As for Elm Creek, their victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Arcadia/Loup City has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Elm Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Arcadia/Loup City might still be hurting after the 54-30 defeat they got from Elm Creek when the teams last played back in December of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Oberg, who went 7 of 16 on his way to 20 points along with six boards and four steals. Now that Arcadia/Loup City knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
