The Richland Colts will finish 2023 at home by hosting the Larimore Polar Bears at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Given that both teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Last Thursday, Richland lost to Sisseton at home by a decisive 60-42 margin.
Despite their loss, Richland saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Nick Mjoness, who scored 11 points along with three steals, was perhaps the best of all. Mjoness scored a full 26.2% of Richland's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Nick Wulfekuhle was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, things could have been worse for Larimore, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 59-42 loss to Midway/Minto last Monday. Larimore has not had much luck with Midway/Minto recently, as the team's come up short the last six times they've met.
Despite the defeat, Larimore got a solid performance out of Avery Gratton, who scored 16 points along with nine rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Michael Myers, who scored six points along with 11 rebounds.
Richland now has a losing record at 1-2. As for Larimore, they bumped their record down to 0-2 with that defeat, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Richland have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 29.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Larimore struggles in that department as they've been averaging 38 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Richland's way against Larimore in their previous meeting back in December of 2017 as Richland made off with a 62-39 victory. Will Richland repeat their success, or does Larimore have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
