Cedar Bluffs and Winside are an even 4-4 against one another since February of 2015, but not for long. The Cedar Bluffs Wildcats will be playing in front of their home fans against the Winside Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Given that both teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
Cedar Bluffs fought the good fight in their overtime match against Heartland Christian on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 64-53 hit to the loss column at the hands of the. Cedar Bluffs has not had much luck with Heartland Christian recently, as the team's come up short the last six times they've met.
The losing side was boosted by Mason Christensen, who scored 17 points along with five rebounds and two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Ishmiel, who scored eight points along with 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Winside struggled with offensive rebounds on Friday (Pender had 14 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Winside fell 60-51 to Pender. While losing is never fun, Winside can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 238th, while Pender is ranked 106th).
Despite the defeat, Winside saw an underclassman step up: Gavin Schutt scored 21 points along with five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Schutt has scored all season. Kaden Hunt was another key contributor, scoring 15 points along with seven rebounds and two blocks.
Even though they lost, Winside were working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Cedar Bluffs has not been sharp recently as the team has lost 11 of their last 13 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-16 record this season. As for Winside, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 7-11.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Cedar Bluffs have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 23.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Winside struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Cedar Bluffs came up short against Winside in their previous matchup back in February of 2022, falling 41-35. Can Cedar Bluffs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
