Preview: Bucklin Red Aces vs. Minneola Wildcats
Bucklin and Minneola are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2015, but not for long. The Bucklin Red Aces will head out on the road to face off against the Minneola Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Bucklin has six straight wins, Minneola has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
In what's become a running theme this season, Bucklin gave their fans yet another huge win on Tuesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Ashland 74-38 at home. Given Bucklin's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 26th, while Ashland is ranked 194th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Bucklin found their leader in underclassman Emmerson Kirk, who scored 21 points along with five assists and four steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Kirk has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Sydnie Jones, who almost dropped a double-double on 12 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, things could have been worse for Minneola, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 53-39 loss to LaCrosse on Friday.
Despite their loss, Minneola saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Braegen Shelor, who scored 15 points along with five rebounds and two steals, was perhaps the best of all. Maiya Shelor was another key contributor, scoring 17 points along with five steals.
Bucklin has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-3 record this season. As for Minneola, their defeat was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 5-14.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Bucklin have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Minneola struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Bucklin came up short against Minneola in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, falling 48-43. Thankfully for Bucklin, Madison Denison (who scored 16 points along with seven blocks and six rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
