The Neosho Wildcats will take on the Lebanon Yellowjackets at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Neosho's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last seven games.
Last Friday, Neosho was able to grind out a solid victory over East Newton, taking the game 58-51.
Kanten Smith had a dynamite game for Neosho, as he made all 8 shots he took for 18 points and four steals. Kaiden Asberry was another key player, going 5 of 9 on his way to 15 points.
Meanwhile, Lebanon was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They were outmatched by Webb City and fell 75-47. While losing is never fun, the Yellowjackets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 267th, while the Cardinals are ranked 120th).
Neosho will need focus on slowing down Bristol Burtin, one of several Lebanon players who made an impact when they last played. He went 5 for 9 en route to 14 points. Another player making a difference was Antwon Givens, who posted six points and three blocks.
Neosho is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.6 points per game. As for Lebanon, their loss dropped their record down to 4-10.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Neosho and Lebanon are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Neosho hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 56.9 points per game. However, it's not like Lebanon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 55.3 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Neosho came up short against Lebanon in their previous meeting back in January of 2017, falling 66-59. Thankfully for Neosho, Quenton Shelton (who went 10 of 19 on his way to 27 points and five rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
