Southern Valley is 10-0 against Axtell since February of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Southern Valley Eagles have the luxury of staying home another game and will welcome the Axtell Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. on February 16th. Hopefully Southern Valley focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 12 on Thursday.
Southern Valley struggled with offensive rebounds on Thursday (Dundy County-Stratton had seven more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Southern Valley fell 61-48 to Dundy County-Stratton. Southern Valley has not had much luck with Dundy County-Stratton recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Kamden Bose, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and five assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Isaac Hamilton, who scored 17 points.
Meanwhile, Axtell entered their tilt with Southwest with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Axtell simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Southwest 69-38 at home. The score was close at the half, but Axtell pulled away in the second half with 44 points.
Axtell's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Ethan Morgan, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds. Morgan has been hot recently, having posted two or more blocks the last three times he's played. Cayson Havranek was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with three steals.
Southern Valley has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-12 record this season. As for Axtell, they pushed their record up to 15-6 with that win, which was their third straight at home.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Southern Valley have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Axtell struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.5 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Southern Valley didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Axtell in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, but they still walked away with a 57-53 win. Will Southern Valley repeat their success, or does Axtell have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
