After flying high against the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Bears last Tuesday, the Lutheran-Northeast Eagles came back down to earth. Lutheran-Northeast fell just short of Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] by a score of 49-46. Lutheran-Northeast was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in February of 2023.
When it comes to explaining why Lutheran-Northeast lost on Friday, one person who can't be blamed is Josh Rojas. Despite the final result, he scored 17 points. Rojas continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Braden Feddern, who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds.
Even though they lost, Lutheran-Northeast smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] only pulled down three offensive rebounds.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] to victory, but perhaps none more so than Preston Hoke, who scored 25 points along with two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Hoke has scored all season. Alec Schindler was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with three steals and two blocks.
Lutheran-Northeast's defeat dropped their record down to 17-4. As for Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard], they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 17-3 record this season.
Lutheran-Northeast will look to defend their home court on Friday against Howells-Dodge. As for Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard], they will head out on the road to take on Boyd County at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] is coming into the contest with seven straight victories on the road, so Boyd County is out to stop a team with plenty of momentum.
