Basketball Game Preview: Culbertson Cowboys vs. Lambert/Richey R&L Fusion

Culbertson and Lambert/Richey are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2020, but not for long. The Culbertson Cowboys will face off against the Lambert/Richey R&L Fusion at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Culbertson has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.

Last Saturday, everything came up roses for Culbertson against MonDak [Westby/Grenora] as the squad secured a 72-39 victory. The Cowboys have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six games by 25 points or more this season.

Culbertson's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Mark Kirkaldie, who dropped a double-double with 21 points and ten boards. The dominant performance gave Kirkaldie a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Plenny Williams, who went 9-for-16 to rack up 21 points in addition to six rebounds and five assists.

Meanwhile, it's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Lambert/Richey can now relate to. They were outmatched by the Wildcats and fell 82-8. The matchup marked the R&L Fusion's lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Culbertson is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.5 points over those games. As for Lambert/Richey, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-10.

Everything came up roses for Culbertson against Lambert/Richey when the teams last played back in January, as the team secured a 63-28 win. Will Culbertson repeat their success, or does Lambert/Richey have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.