Preview: Hillsboro Trojans vs. Nickerson Panthers
Hillsboro is 10-0 against Nickerson since February of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Hillsboro Trojans will head out on the road to take on the Nickerson Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Hillsboro will be strutting in after a win while Nickerson will be coming in after a loss.
On Friday, Hillsboro was able to grind out a solid win over Halstead, taking the game 58-46. Given Hillsboro's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 131st, while Halstead is ranked 275th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Nickerson's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their third straight defeat. They took a hard 61-45 fall against Pratt. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Nickerson in their matchups with Pratt: they've now lost seven in a row.
Nickerson's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Taylor Engelland, who scored 22 points, and Austin Peterson who scored five points along with five rebounds. That was a full 48.9% of Nickerson's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Hillsboro is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-7 record this season. As for Nickerson, they have not been sharp recently as the team has lost six of their last eight contests, which is still a better percentage than their 4-13 record this season.
Everything came up roses for Hillsboro against Nickerson in their previous meeting back in February of 2023 as the squad secured a 71-28 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Hillsboro since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
