Basketball Game Preview: Southern Raiders vs. Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer Titans

Southern has gone 8-2 against Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Raiders will be home for the holidays to greet the Titans. Southern comes in still looking for their first win of the season.

Southern is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They had to suffer through an 80-47 loss at the hands of Deshler. The Raiders were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 44-19.

Despite the loss, Southern saw an underclassman step up: freshman Weston Whitwer posted ten points in addition to eight rebounds and five steals. Those five steals set a new season-high mark for Whitwer. The team also got some help courtesy of Paxx Adams, who put up 13 points and five assists.

Meanwhile, Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 61-56 to Lourdes Central Catholic.

Southern will have to contain Emmett Glathar as he made an impact in Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer's last game. He dropped a double-double with 29 points and 15 boards. That was a full 51.8% of Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer's points, marking the third time in a row Glathar has earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Jack Hilgenfeld, who had 11 points.

Southern's defeat dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer, their loss dropped their record down to 1-3.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Southern has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 20.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Southern took their victory against Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer in their previous matchup back in December of 2024 by a conclusive 65-44 score. Will the Raiders repeat their success, or do the Titans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.