Basketball Recap: Deric Kelley's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Southwest over Hi-Line [Eustis-Farnam/Elwood]

If Southwest was feeling good fresh off their 69-42 takedown of Wauneta-Palisade last Saturday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Southwest Roughriders fell to Hi-Line [Eustis-Farnam/Elwood] 47-42. The defeat continues a trend for the Roughriders in their matchups with Hi-Line [Eustis-Farnam/Elwood]: they've now lost six in a row.

Several Roughriders players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Deric Kelley, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 15 boards. Kelley is becoming a predictor of Southwest's success: when he posts at least eight rebounds the team is 2-1 (and 2-7 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Houston Billeter, who posted 16 points and eight rebounds.

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Previous 1 Games

01/14/25 - Home

42-47 L

Even though they lost, Southwest smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in six consecutive matches.

Southwest's loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 4-8. As for Hi-Line [Eustis-Farnam/Elwood], they moved to 5-7 with that win, which also ended their four-game losing streak.

Southwest and Hi-Line [Eustis-Farnam/Elwood] could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps Nebraska Rankings. Southwest (ranked 242nd) will meet Bertrand (ranked 120th) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, Hi-Line [Eustis-Farnam/Elwood] (ranked 229th) will meet Alma (ranked 59th) at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.