The Walthill Blujays will head out on the road to face off against the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Tuesday, Walthill didn't have too much trouble with Winside at home as they won 55-38. Given Walthill's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 78th, while Winside is ranked 236th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Walthill's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Ethan Parker led the charge by scoring 12 points. Another player making a difference was Adrian Phillips, who scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge beat Wakefield 57-53 on Thursday. That's two games straight that Laurel-Concord-Coleridge has won by exactly four points.
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Tyler Olson out in front who scored 18 points along with five rebounds. Olson continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Kolby Hansen was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with five rebounds.
Walthill pushed their record up to 11-1 with that victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.2 points per game. As for Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 11-5.
Walthill might still be hurting after the 65-44 loss they got from Laurel-Concord-Coleridge when the teams last played back in January of 2023. Thankfully for Walthill, Jake Rath (who dropped a double-double on 30 points and 14 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
