The Nickerson Panthers's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their third straight loss. They took a hard 61-45 fall against Pratt. Nickerson has not had much luck with Pratt recently, as the team's come up short the last six times they've met.
Taylor Engelland and Austin Peterson certainly did their best on Friday to avoid the loss. Engelland scored 22 points, while Peterson scored five points along with five rebounds. That was a full 48.9% of Nickerson's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Nickerson has been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight contests, which is still a better percentage than their 4-13 record this season. As for Pratt, the victory (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 13-3.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Nickerson will take on Hillsboro at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Nickerson will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Kansas Rankings (they are ranked 265th, while Hillsboro is ranked 131st). As for Pratt, they will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Smoky Valley at 7:30 p.m. Smoky Valley will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Kansas Rankings (they are ranked 238th, while Pratt is ranked 56th).
