Basketball Game Preview: Heartland Lutheran Red Hornets vs. Riverside Chargers

Heartland Lutheran hasn't had much luck against Riverside recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Heartland Lutheran Red Hornets will head out to challenge the Riverside Chargers at 7:30 p.m. Heartland Lutheran has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Having struggled with three defeats in a row, Heartland Lutheran turned things around against Dorchester on Monday. They couldn't have asked for a better start to 2025 than the 64-36 blowout they got against the Longhorns.

Heartland Lutheran relied on the efforts of Luke Olson, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Colton Zehendner, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 17 boards. With that strong performance, Zehendner is now averaging an impressive 8.2 rebounds per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Chad Rostvet, who posted 12 points and six rebounds.

Heartland Lutheran smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in seven consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Riverside, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Saturday. They came out on top against Heartland by a score of 59-51 on Tuesday.

Riverside's win came from a few key players Heartland Lutheran will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jack Molt, who posted 20 points. Another player making a difference was Nicholas Berger, who earned 16 points.

Riverside is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a massive bump to their 4-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.4 points per game. As for Heartland Lutheran, their win ended a four-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-7.

Heartland Lutheran took a serious blow against Riverside when the teams last played back in January of 2024, falling 71-33. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Heartland Lutheran was down 41-16.