Preview: Osceola Bulldogs vs. Meridian Mustangs
Osceola is 7-2 against the Mustangs since February of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Osceola Bulldogs will head out on the road to square off against the Meridian Mustangs at 7:45 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Osceola has six straight wins, the Mustangs have five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Tuesday, Osceola beat the Eagles 53-41.
Kale Gustafson continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 19 points and 15 rebounds. That makes it 16 consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Osceola's points. Kelby Neujahr was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
Meridian's last matchup with the Storm could've gone either way, but unfortunately the same can't be said for the pair's both teams on Tuesday. Meridian had to suffer through a rough 66-36 loss at the hands of the Storm. Meridian has not had much luck with the Storm recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Osceola pushed their record up to 13-4 with that victory, which was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.9 points per game. As for Meridian, they have been struggling recently as they've lost nine of their last 11 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-11 record this season.
Osceola was able to grind out a solid win over the Mustangs in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, winning 53-42. The rematch might be a little tougher for Osceola since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
