The Heartland Lutheran Red Hornets will challenge the Red Cloud Warriors at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Heartland Lutheran's tournament run continued when they took on Archangels Catholic on Monday. Heartland Lutheran took a blow against Archangels Catholic, falling 63-31. While losing is never fun, the Red Hornets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 260th, while the Defenders are ranked 98th).
| 01/20/25 vs Archangels Catholic | 4 |
| 12/28/24 vs Chambers/Wheeler Central | 1 |
Despite the loss, Heartland Lutheran saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Cole Lindner posted ten points and four steals. Those four steals set a new season-high mark for Lindner. The team also got some help courtesy of Luke Olson, who went 5 of 8 en route to 11 points and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Red Cloud had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 19.3 points) and they went ahead and made it seven on Friday. They walked away with a 63-51 victory over the Wildcats. The Warriors' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Heartland Lutheran better keep an eye on Gage Ely. He was instrumental in Red Cloud's win, dropping a double-double on 38 points and ten boards. Those 38 points gave Ely a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Carlos Horne, who put up four points and 11 rebounds.
Red Cloud pushed their record up to 10-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.8 points per game. As for Heartland Lutheran, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Heartland Lutheran has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Red Cloud struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Heartland Lutheran was taken down by Red Cloud 44-14 in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Heartland Lutheran was down 25-3.
