Basketball Game Preview: Malcolm Clippers vs. Beatrice Orangemen

The Malcolm Clippers and the Beatrice Orangemen will compete for holiday cheer on Saturday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Malcolm easily dispatched Raymond Central on Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Clippers fell just short of Platteview by a score of 35-33 on Thursday. The contest marked the Clippers' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Malcolm's defeat came about despite a quality game from Preston Kucera, who posted 11 points and eight boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Gavin Little, who had four points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, Beatrice was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Platteview an easy 43-23 victory. While losing is never fun, the Orangemen can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 111th, while the Trojans are ranked 27th).

Malcolm's defeat dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Beatrice, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.

Malcolm came out on top in a nail-biter against Beatrice in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, sneaking past 56-53. Do the Clippers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Orangemen turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.