Basketball Game Preview: Ogallala Indians vs. Scottsbluff Bearcats

The Ogallala Indians will face off against the Scottsbluff Bearcats at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Ogallala knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 13 matches -- so hopefully Scottsbluff likes a good challenge.

Ogallala is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Valentine: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Ogallala blew Valentine out of the water with a 77-39 final score. The Indians have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight contests by 27 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Scottsbluff faced Crete in a battle between two of the state's top teams last Saturday. Scottsbluff fell 61-51 to Crete. The matchup marked the Bearcats' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Ogallala will have to contain Nate Kelley as he made an impact in Scottsbluff's last game. He went 8 for 19 en route to 17 points. Kelley has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. Tre Boswell was another key player, putting up eight points and nine boards.

Even though they lost, Scottsbluff smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.

Ogallala pushed their record up to 13-0 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 31.8 points. As for Scottsbluff, their loss ended a six-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 11-2.

Ogallala didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Scottsbluff when the teams last played back in January of 2024, but they still walked away with a 71-65 victory. Will Ogallala repeat their success, or does Scottsbluff have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.