Basketball Game Preview: Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats vs. Lutheran-Northeast Eagles

Hartington-Newcastle is 0-3 against Lutheran-Northeast since December of 2021 but things could change on Friday. The Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats will challenge the Lutheran-Northeast Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Hartington-Newcastle is headed into the contest having just suffered their biggest loss since January 4th on Tuesday. They came up short against Elkhorn Valley, falling 63-41.

Hartington-Newcastle's defeat came about despite a quality game from Mason Krause, who went 5 of 7 en route to 11 points. The dominant performance also gave Krause a new career-high in steals (two). Austin Sudbeck was another key player, putting up ten points.

Even though they lost, Hartington-Newcastle smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in nine consecutive games.

Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Lutheran-Northeast's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They fell 60-53 to Plainview.

Hartington-Newcastle will need focus on slowing down Gavin Feddern, one of several Lutheran-Northeast players who made an impact when they last played. He went 6 for 10 on his way to 15 points and seven boards. Another player making a difference was Colston Kapels, who went 6 of 12 en route to 17 points.

Lutheran-Northeast's loss dropped their record down to 11-8. As for Hartington-Newcastle, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-11.

Hartington-Newcastle ended up a good deal behind Lutheran-Northeast in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, losing 46-28. Can Hartington-Newcastle avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.