The Alma Cardinals will venture away from home to face off against the Arapahoe Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Alma has nine straight wins, Arapahoe has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Alma will bounce into Friday's game after beating Cambridge, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Alma walked away with a 49-41 victory over Cambridge on Friday.
Zavier Mitchell
| 02/14/25 vs Cambridge | 64% |
| 02/11/25 vs Phillipsburg | 67% |
| 02/07/25 @ Southern Valley | 73% |
| 02/01/25 vs Dundy County-Stratton | 58% |
| 01/31/25 vs Bertrand | 58% |
Alma got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Zavier Mitchell out in front who went 7-for-11 en route to 16 points in addition to eight boards and three steals. Mitchell is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 58% in the last five games he's played. Another player making a difference was Tucker Biskup, who posted 12 points.
Meanwhile, Arapahoe played a tough matchup on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were dealt a 70-43 defeat at the hands of Bertrand. While losing is never fun, the Warriors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 276th, while the Vikings are ranked 115th).
Alma will have to keep a close watch on William Cacy and Grayson Koller, a pair of players who had a big impact on Arapahoe's prior game. Cacy dropped a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Koller scored nine points. Koller continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played.
Even though they lost, Arapahoe smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. This was only their 16th loss (out of 18 games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
Alma pushed their record up to 20-2 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.9 points over those games. As for Arapahoe, their loss dropped their record down to 2-20.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Alma hasn't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 9.2 turnovers per game. It's a different story for Arapahoe, though, as they've been averaging 22.8 turnovers. Given Alma's sizable advantage in that area, Arapahoe will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Alma against Arapahoe in their previous matchup back in January, as the squad secured a 66-27 win. Does Alma have another victory up their sleeve, or will Arapahoe turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
