Basketball Game Preview: Creighton Bulldogs vs. Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats

The Creighton Bulldogs are taking a road trip to challenge the Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Creighton is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Plainview on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Creighton lost 60-38 to Plainview. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 233rd, while the Pirates are ranked 91st).

Meanwhile, Hartington-Newcastle was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They were two points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 47-45 heartbreaker at the hands of Wynot. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Wildcats have suffered since January 3rd.

Creighton will have to contain Brayden Lammers as he made an impact in Hartington-Newcastle's last game. He dropped a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Lammers a new career-high in shooting accuracy (82%).

Even though they lost, Hartington-Newcastle smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 12 consecutive games.

Hartington-Newcastle's defeat dropped their record down to 7-14. As for Creighton, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost nine of their last 11 contests, which has put a noticeable dent in their 7-15 record this season.

Creighton came up short against Hartington-Newcastle in their previous matchup back in December of 2016, falling 55-47. Can Creighton avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.