Basketball Game Preview: Wheatland-Grinnell Thunderhawks vs. Decatur Community Red Devils

The Wheatland-Grinnell Thunderhawks will challenge the Decatur Community Red Devils at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Decatur Community took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Wheatland-Grinnell, who comes in off a win.

Wheatland-Grinnell took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They put the hurt on Cheylin with a sharp 58-38 win. That 20 point margin sets a new team best for the Thunderhawks this season.

Meanwhile, Decatur Community was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight loss. The match between them and Norton didn't end well, with Decatur Community falling 62-47. While losing is never fun, the Red Devils can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 210th, while the Bluejays are ranked 57th).

Wheatland-Grinnell will have to keep a close watch on Tyler Ostmeyer and Brycen Ketterl, a pair of players who had a big impact on Decatur Community's prior game. Ostmeyer went 8-for-10 en route to 21 points and six rebounds, while Ketterl went 6-for-9 on his way to 14 points in addition to five boards and four steals. That was a full 44.7% of Decatur Community's points, marking the third time in a row Ostmeyer has posted more than a third of the team's points. Davin Jensen was another key player, putting up no points along with eight assists and three blocks.

Wheatland-Grinnell's victory bumped their record up to 8-10. As for Decatur Community, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-9.

Wheatland-Grinnell took a serious blow against Decatur Community when the teams last played back in February of 2024, falling 56-18. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Ostmeyer, who dropped a double-double with 17 points and 18 rebounds. Now that Wheatland-Grinnell knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.