It was a good run, but the Bison Cardinals unfortunately witnessed the end of their four-game winning streak on Friday. They suffered a tough 62-41 defeat at the hands of Wakpala. Bison was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Wakpala apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in January of 2023.
Bison lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Rylee Veal, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds. That was a full 43.9% of Bison's points, marking the 17th time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Kyle Stadler, who scored six points along with six steals.
Bison dropped their record down to 6-11 with that defeat, which was their third straight on the road. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 27.3 points per game. As for Wakpala, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-7 record this season.
Bison will be playing at home against Takini at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in South Dakota (Takini is ranked 144th, while Bison is ranked 143rd). As for Wakpala, they won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Cheyenne-Eagle Butte at 5:30 p.m. on February 10th. Cheyenne-Eagle Butte is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 64 points per game this season.
