The New Castle Trojans will venture away from home to square off against the Northeastern Knights at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: New Castle has struggled recently with six losses in a row, while Northeastern will arrive with nine straight victories.
New Castle is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against New Palestine last Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. New Castle took a blow against New Palestine, falling 73-43. The Trojans were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 39-18.
| 12/20/24 @ New Palestine | 12 |
| 12/14/24 @ Jay County | 7 |
| 12/13/24 vs Shelbyville | 6 |
| 12/07/24 @ Anderson | 4 |
| 12/06/24 vs Hamilton Heights | 11 |
New Castle might have lost, but man, Landon Thompson was a machine: he dropped a double-double on 20 points and 12 boards. With that strong performance, Thompson is now averaging an impressive 8.4 rebounds per game.
Even though they lost, New Castle smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Northeastern earned a 64-54 win over Union County on Saturday. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 30th, while the Patriots are ranked 280th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
New Castle better keep an eye on Noah Payne. He was instrumental in Northeastern's win, going 10 of 12 on his way to 25 points and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Landon Scarrette, who posted 11 points and seven assists.
New Castle's defeat dropped their record down to 1-6. As for Northeastern, their victory bumped their record up to 9-0.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: New Castle has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 24.3 boards per game. However, it's not like Northeastern struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
New Castle skirted past Northeastern 46-44 when the teams last played back in December of 2022. Does New Castle have another victory up their sleeve, or will Northeastern turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
