Preview: Northern Valley Huskies vs. Decatur Community Red Devils
Northern Valley is 7-0 against Decatur Community since January of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Northern Valley Huskies will look to defend their home court against the Decatur Community Red Devils at 7:00 p.m. Hopefully Northern Valley is not getting complacent considering they own a much higher rank in Kansas (they are ranked 105th, while Decatur Community is ranked 329th).
Northern Valley stacked an 11th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They breezed by Triplains/Brewster on the road to the tune of 69-14. With Northern Valley ahead 41-7 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Northern Valley got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Drew Schemper out in front who scored 17 points along with eight rebounds and four blocks. Schemper has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kenton Thalheim, who scored 14 points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Decatur Community came up short against Norton last Tuesday and fell 45-38.
Despite their loss, Decatur Community saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Jaden Capuzzo, who scored seven points along with five rebounds and two steals, was perhaps the best of all. Tyler Ostmeyer was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with nine rebounds and two blocks.
Northern Valley's victory was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 16-1. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.4 points per game. As for Decatur Community, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-12.
Thursday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Northern Valley have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 44.4% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Decatur Community struggles in that department as they've made 37% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Northern Valley against Decatur Community in their previous matchup back in January of 2023 as the squad secured a 69-29 victory. In that matchup, Northern Valley amassed a halftime lead of 42-21, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
