There's no place like home for the Minden Whippets, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road last Saturday. They came out on top against Ainsworth by a score of 60-47 on Friday. This was payback for Minden, who suffered a 60-38 defeat the last time these two teams met.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Minden to victory, but perhaps none more so than Brett Eckhardt, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds. Eckhardt is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Brycen Schwenka, who scored 15 points along with eight rebounds.
When it comes to explaining why Ainsworth lost, one person who can't be blamed is Traegan McNally. Despite the final result, he scored 19 points. The game was McNally's tenth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Trey Appelt, who scored 11 points along with eight rebounds.
Minden now has a winning record of 5-4. As for Ainsworth, their loss ended a five-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 8-2.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Minden won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Valentine at 4:00 p.m. on January 6th. Hopefully Valentine focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 on Friday. Ainsworth won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Holdrege at 2:45 p.m. on January 6th. Holdrege has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
