Pawnee City is 1-9 against Johnson-Brock since December of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Pawnee City Indians will face off against the Johnson-Brock Eagles at 7:30 p.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Pawnee City comes in on three and Johnson-Brock on 37.
Last Tuesday, Pawnee City was able to grind out a solid win over Weeping Water, taking the game 60-47. Given Pawnee City's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 60th, while Weeping Water is ranked 231st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 01/07/25 vs Weeping Water | 17 |
| 12/30/24 @ Sterling | 16 |
| 12/17/24 @ Lourdes Central Catholic | 21 |
| 12/14/24 vs Johnson County Central | 20 |
| 12/10/24 vs Tri County | 17 |
Pawnee City got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Jett Farwell out in front who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 17 boards. The matchup was Farwell's fifth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Anthony Kling, who went 7 of 10 on his way to 17 points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Johnson-Brock). They simply couldn't be stopped on Tuesday as they easily beat Lourdes Central Catholic 80-28. The Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight contests by 25 points or more this season.
Pawnee City better focus on containing Brody Koehler and Austin Meyer as the pair were huge in Johnson-Brock's win. Koehler went 8 of 12 on his way to 20 points and six rebounds, while Meyer went 6 of 8 on his way to 12 points along with seven boards and three blocks. With that strong performance, Koehler is now averaging an impressive 15.2 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Grady Behrends, who made all 5 shots he took to post 12 points.
Johnson-Brock smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in nine consecutive games.
Johnson-Brock's win was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-0. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 35.5 points. As for Pawnee City, their victory bumped their record up to 6-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pawnee City has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 34.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Johnson-Brock struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.1 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Pawnee City took a serious blow against Johnson-Brock in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 65-31. Can Pawnee City avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
