If Battle Creek was feeling good fresh off their 93-64 takedown of Crofton last Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Battle Creek Braves came up short against the Norfolk Catholic Knights on Friday, falling 79-53. While losing is never fun, the Braves can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 143rd, while the Knights are ranked 50th).
Hayden Kelley was nothing short of spectacular for Norfolk Catholic: he went 8 for 12 on his way to 22 points in addition to seven boards and six assists. Those 22 points gave Kelley a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Max Hammond, who went 7 of 15 on his way to 18 points.
Battle Creek has been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-7 record this season. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.3 points per game. As for Norfolk Catholic, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Battle Creek will head out to challenge West Point-Beemer at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Norfolk Catholic, they will venture away from home to square off against Scotus at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Norfolk Catholic is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 61.3 points per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
