The Pawnee City Indians will wrap up 2024 with a road trip to face off against the Sterling Jets at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Pawnee City is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.4 points per game this season.
Pawnee City is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. The stars were shining brightly for them in a 63-45 win over Lourdes Central Catholic last Tuesday. Given the Indians' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 37th, while the Knights are ranked 210th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 12/17/24 @ Lourdes Central Catholic | 21 |
| 12/14/24 vs Johnson County Central | 20 |
| 12/10/24 vs Tri County | 17 |
Pawnee City's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jett Farwell, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 11 boards. The matchup was Farwell's third in a row with at least ten points. Anthony Kling was another key player, going 8 of 18 on his way to 24 points and seven rebounds.
Pawnee City smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in eight consecutive games dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Sterling played a tough contest on Saturday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting East Butler an easy 65-39 victory. The Jets were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 65-15.
Pawnee City will have to contain Brody Horstman as he made an impact in Sterling's last game. He went 6 of 14 on his way to 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Colin Wambold, who posted ten points.
Sterling's loss dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Pawnee City, their win bumped their record up to 4-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pawnee City has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 36.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Sterling struggles in that department as they've been averaging 20.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything went Pawnee City's way against Sterling in their previous meeting back in January, as Pawnee City made off with a 52-27 victory. Will Pawnee City repeat their success, or does Sterling have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
