Basketball Game Preview: Decatur Community Red Devils vs. Northern Valley Huskies

Decatur Community hasn't had much luck against Northern Valley recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Decatur Community Red Devils will host the Northern Valley Huskies at 7:30 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Decatur Community is headed into Tuesday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Tuesday. They fell 53-46 to Oakley.

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Tyler Ostmeyer, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 13 boards. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 2.2 blocks per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Gage Williby, who posted 17 points along with five rebounds and four steals.

Meanwhile, Northern Valley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They were dealt a 73-27 defeat at the hands of Hill City. The Huskies were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 46-13.

Despite the loss, Northern Valley saw an underclassman step up: freshman Griffin McKinney put up two points and nine rebounds.

Decatur Community's defeat dropped their record down to 4-4. As for Northern Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 3-7.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Decatur Community has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 31.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Northern Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Decatur Community took a serious blow against Northern Valley when the teams last played back in February of 2024, falling 77-39. Thankfully for Decatur Community, Kenton Thalheim (who almost dropped a double-double on 26 points and nine rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.