Joplin is on a six-game streak of home losses, the Wildcats a nine-game streak of away losses (dating back to last season), but someone's luck is about to change. The Joplin Eagles will take on the Neosho Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
On Friday, Joplin took a serious blow against the Eagles, falling 72-43. Joplin has not had much luck with the Eagles recently, as the team's come up short the last five times they've met.
Meanwhile, Neosho scored the most points they've had all season to find success last Tuesday. They strolled past Lamar with points to spare, taking the game 69-53. The win was just what Neosho needed coming off of a 77-56 loss in their prior match.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Neosho to victory, but perhaps none more so than Collier Hendricks, who almost dropped a double-double on 17 points and nine rebounds. It was the first time this season that Hendricks pulled down eight or more rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Kanten Smith, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Joplin has been struggling recently as they've lost ten of their last 11 games, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-18 record this season. As for Neosho, their win bumped their record up to 5-11.
Everything went Joplin's way against the Wildcats when the teams last played back in January as the Eagles made off with a 55-33 victory. Will Joplin repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
