Basketball Game Preview: Wheeler Bearcats vs. Calumet New Tech Warriors

Wheeler is 2-8 against Calumet New Tech since January of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Wheeler Bearcats will head out to challenge the Calumet New Tech Warriors at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Wheeler will head into Saturday's matchup hoping to keep the good times rolling: they proved they can win big on Friday (they won by 26) and on Saturday they proved they can win the close ones too. They had just enough and edged DeMotte Christian out 41-38.

Nick Scott was the offensive standout of the game as he went 6 of 10 from beyond the arc on his way to 20 points and seven boards. The contest was his third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Carter Blane, who posted six points and five assists.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Calumet New Tech). They came out on top against Lake Station Edison by a score of 83-75 on Friday.

Calumet New Tech's win came from a few key players Wheeler will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Eric Allen, who went 9 for 15 en route to 24 points and seven assists. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 15.5 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Johnny Hudson, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Wheeler has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.1 points per game. As for Calumet New Tech, their win ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 6-7.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Wheeler has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 25.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Calumet New Tech struggles in that department as they've been averaging 21 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Wheeler came up short against Calumet New Tech in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, falling 61-52. Can Wheeler avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.