Basketball Game Preview: Salem Wildcats vs. Freeburg Midgets

The Salem Wildcats will take on the Freeburg Midgets in a holiday battle at at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Salem has now lost seven straight, leaving the team hunting for their first win since November 29.

It was a proper cat-fight when Salem faced off against Richland County on Tuesday. Salem might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 56-38 to Richland County, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior. The Wildcats were down 44-22 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.

Meanwhile, Freeburg played a tough matchup on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They lost 58-36 to Waterloo. The game marked the Midgets' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Salem will have to keep a close watch on Matt Pluff and Dathan Krauss, a pair of players who had a big impact on Freeburg's prior game. Pluff posted 12 points in addition to six boards and three steals, while Krauss had 13 points.

Freeburg has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-5 record this season. As for Salem, their loss dropped their record down to 1-8.

Salem came up short against Freeburg in their previous matchup back in February, falling 70-64. Thankfully for Salem, Cole Stuart (who went 8 of 16 on his way to 25 points and five assists) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.