Basketball Recap: Owen Reibling's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Tri-State Christian over Pathway Christian

Tri-State Christian was the 51-44 winner over Pathway Christian when they last played one another back in January, but their luck changed this time around. The Tri-State Christian Huskies fell just short of the Pathway Christian Panthers by a score of 42-40 on Friday.

Tri-State Christian's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Owen Reibling, who posted eight points along with 11 boards and eight steals. The dominant performance also gave Reibling a new career-high in assists (seven). Nehemiah Smith was another key player, going 6 for 7 on his way to 12 points.

Even though they lost, Tri-State Christian was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Leading Pathway Christian to victory were Denver Nelson and Ryker Miller. Nelson went 5 of 12 on his way to 16 points and five steals, while Miller went 6 of 13 on his way to 13 points and five steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Nelson has scored at least a third of Pathway Christian's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Preston Yutzy, who had three points in addition to seven boards and seven steals.

Tri-State Christian's loss dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Pathway Christian, the win made it two in a row for them and also bumps their season record up to 2-4.

Coincidentally, the two teams will both be playing East Moline Christian the next time they take the court. Pathway Christian will head out to face East Moline Christian at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, while Tri-State Christian will head out to face them at 6:30 p.m. on January 7, 2025.