Elkhart has been on the road for two straight, but on Thursday they'll finally head home. They will be home for the holidays to greet the La Porte Slicers at 7:30 p.m. Elkhart will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Indiana Rankings (they are ranked 377th, while La Porte is ranked 104th).
Last Saturday, Elkhart lost to Valparaiso on the road by a decisive 70-52 margin. Elkhart has not had much luck with Valparaiso recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for La Porte at home against Knox on Saturday as the team secured a 62-28 win. For those curious, yes, that was the biggest win La Porte has managed all season.
Rylan Kieszkowski was his usual excellent self, scoring 19 points along with eight rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Griffin Ott-Large, who scored seven points along with six assists.
Elkhart's loss was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 0-7. That rough patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.5 points per game. As for La Porte, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 4-3 record this season.
Elkhart lost to La Porte at home by a decisive 64-45 margin in their previous matchup back in December of 2022. Thankfully for Elkhart, Kyle Kirkham (who scored 16 points along with four steals) 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.
