The Pender Pendragons will be taking part in a tournament against the Tekamah-Herman Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Pender is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Tri County Northeast: they outscored them in every quarter. Pender was the clear victor by a 64-38 margin over Tri County Northeast on Tuesday. The Pendragons have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine games by 20 points or more this season.
| 01/28/25 vs Tri County Northeast | 16 |
| 01/04/25 vs Oakland-Craig | 14 |
| 01/07/25 @ Bancroft-Rosalie | 13 |
| 01/04/24 vs Lyons-Decatur Northeast | 12 |
| 01/27/25 @ Madison | 12 |
Pender's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ryan Krueger, who went 8 of 11 on his way to 16 points along with six rebounds and four steals. The dominant performance gave Krueger a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Trevor Trimble, who posted 12 points in addition to six assists and six boards.
Pender 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 nine offensive boards in ten consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Tekamah-Herman came into Saturday's contest having lost four straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They slipped by Wakefield 61-60 on Saturday.
Pender better keep an eye on Brody Rogers. He was instrumental in Tekamah-Herman's win, going 7 for 16 en route to 17 points along with seven assists and six rebounds. Rogers also posted a block, marking his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Griffin Breckenridge, who put up ten points in addition to eight assists and eight boards.
Pender has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-2 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.1 points per game. As for Tekamah-Herman, the win got them back to even at 9-9.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pender has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 34.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Tekamah-Herman struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Pender against Tekamah-Herman when the teams last played back in December of 2024, as the squad secured a 70-23 victory. In that matchup, Pender amassed a halftime lead of 39-13, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.
