Minneola is 1-9 against Hodgeman County since January of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Minneola Wildcats will head out on the road to face off against the Hodgeman County Longhorns at 8:00 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Minneola scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Friday. They came out on top against Ashland by a score of 68-60. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Minneola's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Levi Lang, who scored 20 points along with five rebounds and three steals, and Eli Lang, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and ten rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Lang has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyson Klotz, who scored ten points.
Hodgeman County posted their biggest win yet this season on Friday. They took their match on the road with ease, bagging a 66-27 victory over Ingalls. Winning may never get old, but Hodgeman County sure is getting used to it with their third in a row.
It was another big night for Owen Reece, who scored 26 points along with six steals and three blocks. That makes it nine consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Hodgeman County's points. Matthew Patterson was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Minneola's win bumped their record up to 4-5. As for Hodgeman County, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season.
Tuesday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Minneola have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 34 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Hodgeman County, though, as they've been averaging only 33.8 rebounds per game. Given Minneola's sizeable advantage in that area, Hodgeman County will need to find a way to close that gap.
Minneola came up short against Hodgeman County in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, falling 44-35. Can Minneola avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
