The Elm Creek Buffaloes will head out to take on the Kenesaw Blue Devils at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Elm Creek knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past three contests -- so hopefully Kenesaw likes a good challenge.
Elm Creek is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took down Axtell 75-59 on Thursday. Given the Buffaloes' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 68th, while the Wildcats are ranked 210th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 01/16/25 vs Axtell | 21 |
| 01/14/25 vs Wilcox-Hildreth | 8 |
| 01/10/25 @ Loomis | 9 |
Elm Creek's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jeremiah Shoemaker led the charge by dropping a double-double on 18 points and 21 boards. Shoemaker has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Quin Oberg, who almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine boards.
Elm Creek smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in December of 2023.
Meanwhile, Kenesaw fought the good fight in their overtime match against Lawrence-Nelson on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 59-52 to the Raiders. The Blue Devils' defeat signaled the end of their six-game winning streak.
Elm Creek will need focus on slowing down Jravin Suck, one of several Kenesaw players who made an impact when they last played. He posted eight points and eight rebounds. Another player making a difference was Maddox Wagoner, who went 6 for 14 on his way to 14 points and six boards.
Elm Creek pushed their record up to 11-2 with the win, which was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season. As for Kenesaw, their loss dropped their record down to 9-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Elm Creek has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 28.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Kenesaw struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.8 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Elm Creek strolled past Kenesaw when the teams last played back in January of 2024 by a score of 56-39. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Kenesaw's Blake Steer, who went 8 of 14 en route to 19 points and five boards. Now that he won't be playing on Saturday, will it be easier for Elm Creek to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
