Basketball Game Preview: Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats vs. Creighton Bulldogs

The Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats will challenge the Creighton Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Hartington-Newcastle is coming into the match on a four-game losing streak.

Hartington-Newcastle is headed into the contest having just suffered their closest defeat since January 3rd on Friday. They fell just short of Wynot by a score of 47-45. While the Wildcats didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Blue Devils 15-6 in the first quarter.

Brayden Lammers

Field Goal Percentage (Career)

02/14/25 vs Wynot	82%
12/20/24 @ Walthill	75%
02/01/24 vs Osmond/Randolph	71%
01/25/24 @ Winnebago	71%
02/16/24 @ Osmond/Randolph	70%

Hartington-Newcastle might have lost, but man, Brayden Lammers was a machine: he dropped a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Lammers a new career-high in field goal percentage (82%).

Even though they lost, Hartington-Newcastle smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 12 consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Creighton played a tough match on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They lost 60-38 to Plainview. The Bulldogs were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 36-13.

Creighton has traveled a rocky road recently having lost nine of their last 11 contests, which has put a noticeable dent in their 7-15 record this season. As for Hartington-Newcastle, their loss dropped their record down to 7-14.

Hartington-Newcastle beat Creighton 55-47 in their previous matchup back in December of 2016. Will Hartington-Newcastle repeat their success, or does Creighton have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.