The Hastings Tigers and the Waverly Vikings will face off on February 8th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hastings is no doubt hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses.
Last Saturday, Hastings suffered a tough 67-41 defeat at the hands of the Antlers. While losing is never fun, Hastings can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 135th, while the Antlers are ranked seventh).
Waverly was handed a three-point defeat in their last match, but they sure didn't let that happen against the Huskies on Friday. Waverly breezed by the Huskies at home to the tune of 61-26. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Waverly had established a 21 point advantage.
Waverly got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Nathan Axmann out in front who scored 18 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Keaton Rine, who scored 15 points.
Hastings has been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last seven contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-12 record this season. As for Waverly, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a massive bump to their 7-10 record this season.
Hastings came up short against the Vikings in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, falling 58-52. Can Hastings avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
