Basketball Preview: East Thunderbirds vs. Campbell County Camels
East has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They and the Campbell County Camels will face off at 7:30 p.m. on February 9th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. East has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 338 points over their last five matchups.
Last Saturday, East faced the Mustangs in a battle between two of the state's top teams. East enjoyed a cozy 65-47 victory over the Mustangs.
Meanwhile, Campbell County struggled with offensive rebounds on Saturday (the Plainsmen had eight more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Campbell County's rough 69-47 loss to the Plainsmen might stick with them for a while. While losing is never fun, Campbell County can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Wyoming basketball rankings (they are ranked 25th, while the Plainsmen are ranked second).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Rylan Robertson, who scored nine points. The team also got some help courtesy of Lane Hladky, who scored eight points along with two steals.
Campbell County struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
East's victory bumped their record up to 15-4. As for Campbell County, they have been struggling recently as they've lost eight of their last nine games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-11 record this season.
Everything came up roses for East against the Camels when the teams last played back in December of 2023 as the squad secured a 72-26 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Hladky, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will East still be able to contain Hladky? There's only one way to find out.
