The Raymond Central Mustangs's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their sixth straight loss. They received a tough blow as they fell 57-40 to Conestoga. While losing is never fun, Raymond Central can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 247th, while the Cougars are ranked 40th).
Raymond Central lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Reid Otto, who scored eight points along with five rebounds and two steals. Preston Lubischer was another key contributor, scoring nine points.
Conestoga found their leader in underclassman Owen Trofholz, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 15 rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which Trofholz has scored at least a third of Conestoga's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Andy Lamoureux, who scored nine points along with two steals and two blocks.
Raymond Central dropped their record down to 1-15 with that defeat, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Conestoga, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 13-2 record this season.
Raymond Central will head out on the road to challenge the Pioneers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Nebraska City is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak. As for Conestoga, they will be playing in front of their home fans against the Eagles on Friday. Hopefully Arlington focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up ten on Tuesday.
