Winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 11 to 4 on the offensive boards, a fact the Mississinewa Indians proved on Saturday. In a tight game that could have gone either way, they made off with a 55-54 victory over Western. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Mississinewa.
Jesse Simpkins was on fire: he went 7 for 12 from beyond the arc en route to 23 points and 1 assist. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. Preston McCann was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with two steals.
Western's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Logan Nelson, who scored 15 points along with five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Sam Thurston, who scored 15 points.
Mississinewa is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. As for Western, their loss was their fifth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 4-11.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Mississinewa will challenge Alexandria-Monroe at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Alexandria-Monroe will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Indiana Rankings (they are ranked 302nd, while Mississinewa is ranked 138th). As for Western, they will head out on the road to take on Clinton Prairie at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
