The Butternut Midgets will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Winter Warriors at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday. Butternut is still on the hunt for that elusive first 'W'.
Last Monday, Butternut was beaten by Solon Springs 79-28. While losing is never fun, Butternut can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Wisconsin basketball rankings (they are ranked 485th, while Solon Springs is ranked 163rd).
Even though Winter has not done well against New Auburn recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Winter blew past New Auburn 87-61. The result was nothing new for Winter, who have now won four games by 26 points or more so far this season.
Winter's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Adam Bednorski led the charge by scoring 27 points along with five assists and five steals. The game was Bednorski's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Gunnar Greuel was another key contributor, almost dropping a triple-double on 14 points, 23 rebounds, and nine assists.
Butternut bumped their record down to 0-7 with that loss, which was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season. Those losses could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 25.6 points per game. As for Winter, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 4-5.
Butternut was taken down by Winter 79-34 when the teams last played back in December of 2022. Thankfully for Butternut, Albert Blair (who shot 4-for-6 from downtown and dropped a double-double on 30 points and ten steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
