The Elsberry Indians were the 60-39 winner over the Van-Far Indians when they last played one another back in January of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. Elsberry fell 56-48 to Van-Far on Thursday. While losing is never fun, Elsberry can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 459th, while Van-Far is ranked 218th).
Van-Far found their leader in underclassman Pacey Reading, who scored 21 points. The matchup was Reading's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Nikos Connaway, who scored 12 points.
Elsberry has fallen quite a ways from their 20-8 record last season and are now at 3-8. As for Van-Far, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 9-2.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Elsberry won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Louisiana at 7:00 p.m. on January 12th. Louisiana has now lost eight straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since December 4. As for Van-Far, they will look to defend their home court on Saturday against Bowling Green at 6:30 p.m.
