Platte Valley is 1-8 against the Cougars since January of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Platte Valley Broncos will head out on the road to face off against the Resurrection Christian Cougars at 7:00 p.m. Hopefully Platte Valley focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 14 on Friday.
Last Friday, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Platte Valley had to settle for a 55-53 defeat against the Eagles.
Despite their loss, Platte Valley saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Braylon Edstrom, who scored 18 points along with five assists and five rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Edstrom hasn't dropped below 18 points for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Talyn Short, who scored 17 points along with five rebounds.
Even though they lost, Platte Valley were working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Liberty Common only racked up nine assists.
Meanwhile, Resurrection Christian put the finishing touches on their 11th blowout victory of the season on Friday. They breezed by University on the road to the tune of 89-37. Given Resurrection Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 17th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 177th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Resurrection Christian's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Cade Crutcher led the charge by scoring 18 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Crutcher is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for four games straight. Another player making a difference was Jacob Barker, who almost dropped a double-double on 15 points and nine rebounds.
Platte Valley's loss dropped their record down to 6-9. As for Resurrection Christian, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 14-2.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Platte Valley have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 23.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Resurrection Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.9 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Platte Valley suffered a grim 56-34 defeat to the Cougars in their previous matchup back in February of 2023. Can Platte Valley avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
