The Tri County Trojans will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Fillmore Central Panthers. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, Tri County didn't have too much trouble with Exeter-Milligan/Friend on the road as they won 43-24. Given Tri County's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 27th, while Exeter-Milligan/Friend is ranked 117th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Tri County got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Caden Bales out in front who scored 14 points. Drew Siems was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Fillmore Central can now show off five landslide victories after their most recent matchup last Saturday. They claimed a resounding 64-27 win over Superior on the road. For those curious, yes, that was the biggest victory Fillmore Central has managed all season.
Daniel Stoner was his usual excellent self, scoring 23 points.
Tri County is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-2 record this season. As for Fillmore Central, their win bumped their record up to 10-1.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the pair are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Tri County hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 52.9 points per game. However, it's not like Fillmore Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 56.3 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Tri County beat Fillmore Central 61-48 in their previous matchup back in January of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Fillmore Central's Keegan Theobald, who scored 18 points. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be that much easier for Tri County to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.