The Heartland Lutheran Red Hornets will square off against the Dorchester Longhorns at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.
Heartland Lutheran is headed into Monday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Friday. 2025 welcomed they with a 75-49 loss courtesy of Ansley/Litchfield. The Red Hornets were down 61-41 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.
Despite the loss, Heartland Lutheran saw an underclassman step up: freshman Luke Olson dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds. Vance Smith was another key player, putting up ten points.
Meanwhile, Dorchester played a tough matchup on Thursday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were dealt a 74-41 defeat at the hands of Lewiston. The Longhorns have struggled against the Tigers recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the loss, Dorchester saw an underclassman step up: freshman Thor Nerud went 6 of 13 on his way to 20 points and six rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Nerud has scored all season.
Even though they lost, Dorchester was working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January of 2024.
Dorchester's defeat dropped their record down to 1-6. As for Heartland Lutheran, their loss dropped their record down to 1-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Heartland Lutheran has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 33.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Dorchester struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Heartland Lutheran was able to grind out a solid win over Dorchester in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, winning 46-33. The rematch might be a little tougher for Heartland Lutheran since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
