The Whitko Wildcats will be playing in front of their home fans against the Peru Tigers at 7:45 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Whitko came tearing into Wednesday's match with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20.7 points) and they left with even more momentum. They strolled past Southwood with points to spare, taking the game 67-48. Given Whitko's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 171st, while Southwood is ranked 353rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Whitko had a senior duo take command as Sam Essegian dropped a double-double on 19 points and 11 rebounds and Kyler Krull scored 20 points along with two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Logan Hoffman, who scored 11 points.
Peru posted their closest win yet this season on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Culver Academies and snuck past 56-54.
Peru's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Matthew Roettger led the charge by scoring 16 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Roettger is absolutely dominating the steal category: he's posted at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Gavin Eldridge was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with seven assists.
Whitko is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. As for Peru, their victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 9-7.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Whitko have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 52% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Peru struggles in that department as they've made 42.1% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Whitko ended up a good deal behind Peru in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, losing 63-48. Thankfully for Whitko, Braxten Robbins (who scored 13 points) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
