Basketball Game Preview: Lawrence-Nelson Raiders vs. Axtell Wildcats

Having just played yesterday, the Lawrence-Nelson Raiders will head out on the road to face off against the Axtell Wildcats at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lawrence-Nelson has three straight victories, Axtell has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

On Friday, Lawrence-Nelson needed a bit of extra time to put away Kenesaw. They walked away with a 59-52 win over the Blue Devils.

Meanwhile, Axtell ended up a good deal behind Elm Creek on Thursday and lost 75-59. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 210th, while the Buffaloes are ranked 68th).

Lawrence-Nelson has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.9 points per game. As for Axtell, their loss dropped their record down to 4-9.

Things could have been worse for Lawrence-Nelson, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 48-33 loss to Axtell when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Can Lawrence-Nelson avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.