Basketball Game Preview: West Elk Patriots vs. Herington Railroaders

The West Elk Patriots will square off against the Herington Railroaders at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. West Elk is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.2 points per game this season.

West Elk easily dispatched Sedan last Monday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. West Elk fell just short of Argonia by a score of 52-49 on Friday. While the Patriots didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Raiders 22-18 in the first quarter.

Maddex Moreno

Points

02/21/25 @ Argonia	21
02/17/25 vs Sedan	18
02/14/25 @ Oxford	18
02/13/25 vs Burlingame	17
02/11/25 vs Flinthills	17
02/07/25 vs Caldwell	17

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Maddex Moreno, who went 7-for-12 to rack up 21 points. The match was his sixth in a row with at least 17 points. Another player making a difference was Kase Kill, who went 5-for-9 en route to 12 points along with six rebounds and four steals.

Even though they lost, West Elk smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in December of 2024.

Meanwhile, Herington was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They lost 46-25 to Lyndon.

West Elk will have to contain Mason Mortensen as he made an impact in Herington's last game. He posted 17 points. That was a full 68% of Herington's points, marking the 17th time in a row Mortensen has put up more than a third of the team's points.

West Elk has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 11-10 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.2 points over those games. Herington's loss dropped their record down to 6-14.