Basketball Game Preview: McCool Junction Mustangs vs. Freeman Falcons

The McCool Junction Mustangs will take on the Freeman Falcons in a tournament on Monday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a six-game winning streak alive.

McCool Junction saw some tournament action on Saturday. They secured a 55-50 W over Sacred Heart.

McCool Junction's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Mapieu Kouchinin, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 14 boards, and Carson Mcdonald, who went 7 of 9 on his way to 18 points and eight assists. That makes it five consecutive games in which Kouchinin has scored at least a third of McCool Junction's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Colby Yates, who posted six points and three steals.

McCool Junction smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in six consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Freeman didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Syracuse on Saturday, but they still walked away with a 49-45 win. Given the Falcons' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked first, while the Rockets are ranked 36th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

McCool Junction's victory bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Freeman, they pushed their record up to 6-0 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season.

McCool Junction strolled past Freeman in their previous matchup back in December of 2023 by a score of 41-25. Will McCool Junction repeat their success, or does Freeman have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.