Red Cloud hasn't had much luck against Lawrence-Nelson recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Red Cloud Warriors will take on the Lawrence-Nelson Raiders at 7:30 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Red Cloud is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Franklin: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Red Cloud blew Franklin out of the water with a 55-19 final score. With the Warriors ahead 35-9 at the half, the match was all but over already.
Gage Ely was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Red Cloud's points. Another player making a difference was Mason Bolin, who posted nine points along with five boards and five steals.
Meanwhile, Lawrence-Nelson entered their tilt with Deshler on Friday with three consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with four. They walked away with a 40-33 win over the Dragons. That's two games straight that the Raiders have won by exactly seven points.
Lawrence-Nelson found their leader in sophomore Wyatt Frey, who dropped a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Frey has been hot for a while, having posted eight or more boards the last 13 times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Sawyer Cox, who put up nine points and eight rebounds.
Red Cloud's record is now 15-6. As for Lawrence-Nelson, their record is now 14-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Red Cloud has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Lawrence-Nelson struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Red Cloud strolled past Lawrence-Nelson in their previous meeting back in December of 2024 by a score of 54-38. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Frey, who dropped a double-double with 25 points and 19 boards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Red Cloud still be able to contain Frey? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
