Smith Center is 2-8 against Russell since January of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Smith Center Redmen will head out on the road to square off against the Russell Broncos at 7:30 p.m. Hopefully Smith Center focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 14 on Friday.
Last Friday, Smith Center came up short against Norton and fell 58-45. While losing is never fun, Smith Center can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 255th, while Norton is ranked 84th).
Despite the defeat, Smith Center got a solid performance out of Wyatt Overmiller, who scored 19 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Overmiller has scored all season. Ean Doane was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Russell scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Friday. They breezed by Trego at home to the tune of 64-34. The team's offensive explosion also rewarded Russell with their most commanding win of the season.
Smith Center's loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 7-10. As for Russell, their win bumped their record up to 6-12.
Smith Center came up short against Russell when the teams last played back in December of 2023, falling 50-40. Can Smith Center avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
