Ainsworth is 7-1 against North Central since December of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The Ainsworth Bulldogs will head out on the road to square off against the North Central Knights at 7:00 p.m. Hopefully Ainsworth focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up ten on Friday.
After a string of four wins, Ainsworth's good fortune finally ran out. They took a 64-52 hit to the loss column at the hands of Gothenburg.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Carter Nelson, who scored 21 points along with seven rebounds and three blocks. That was a full 40.4% of Ainsworth's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Trey Appelt was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, North Central took a serious blow against Valentine on Thursday, falling 70-40. North Central was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 47-21.
Ainsworth's record is now 13-7. North Central's record now sits at 8-10.
Ainsworth skirted past North Central 47-45 when the teams last played back in February of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was North Central's Raden Orton, who almost dropped a double-double on 15 points and nine rebounds. Now that he won't be playing on Monday, will it be that much easier for Ainsworth to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.