The Arapahoe Warriors are taking a road trip to square off against the Bertrand Vikings at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
On Tuesday, Arapahoe came up short against Cambridge and fell 52-42. The Warriors have struggled against the Trojans recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive lost matchup.
Alex Diaz
| 02/11/25 @ Cambridge | 7 |
| 12/27/24 vs Franklin | 5 |
| 02/07/25 @ Brady | 4 |
| 01/07/25 @ Maxwell | 4 |
| 02/08/25 vs Hitchcock County | 3 |
Despite their defeat, Arapahoe saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Alex Diaz, who posted nine points and seven assists, was perhaps the best of all. The dominant performance gave Diaz a new career-high in assists. Eli Shafer was another key player, putting up eight points and 11 boards.
Even though they lost, Arapahoe smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Bertrand). They strolled past Medicine Valley with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 80-65. The victory almost wasn't to be: the Vikings were down 43-23 in the second quarter.
Arapahoe better focus on containing Marcus Hernandez and Thunder Nelson as the pair were huge in Bertrand's win. Hernandez went 11 for 17 on his way to 28 points in addition to seven assists and seven rebounds, while Nelson dropped a double-double with 29 points and ten boards. Hernandez's evening made it seven games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kayden Hatfield, who earned 12 points and five rebounds.
Bertrand is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.1 points over those games. As for Arapahoe, their loss dropped their record down to 2-19.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Arapahoe has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 36.1 boards per game. However, it's not like Bertrand 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.
Arapahoe couldn't quite finish off Bertrand in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 and fell 45-43. Can Arapahoe avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
