Nickerson was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They fell 58-51 to the Smoky Valley Vikings. The Panthers were not able to make up for their loss to the Vikings from their previous meeting back in February of 2024.
When it comes to explaining why Nickerson lost, don't look at Riley Brawner. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Riley Linn, who posted nine points and five rebounds.
Panthers
| 01/17/25 @ Smoky Valley | 12 |
| 02/02/24 @ Smoky Valley | 11 |
| 01/30/24 vs Larned | 10 |
| 12/05/23 vs Hesston | 9 |
| 12/12/24 vs Bucklin | 9 |
Even though they lost, Nickerson was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since the start of last season.
Smoky Valley was led to victory by Braylon Olson and Ty Heitschmidt. Olson went 7 for 17 en route to 20 points, while Heitschmidt almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine boards. Olson is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. Atticus Pavlovich was another key player, putting up 11 points.
Nickerson's defeat dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Smoky Valley, their win ended a six-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 2-6.
Nickerson wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 51-35 loss against Central Plains on the 20th. Smoky Valley has also already played their next contest (against Sterling), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
