The Poplar Bluff Mules had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10 points), and they went ahead and made it five on Thursday. Everything went their way against Neosho as Poplar Bluff made off with a 69-45 victory. Given Poplar Bluff's advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 66th, while Neosho is ranked 314th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Neosho's loss came despite strong showings from Kaiden Asberry and Tyrone Harris. Asberry scored 15 points, while Harris scored 11 points. The matchup was Harris' fourth in a row with at least ten points.
Poplar Bluff pushed their record up to 9-4 with that victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.8 points per game. As for Neosho, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 4-7.
Poplar Bluff will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Jackson at 7:30 p.m. on January 16th. Neosho won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Joplin at 3:30 p.m. on January 5th. Joplin is coming into the game on a six-game losing streak.
