Norris has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. The Norris Titans and the Bennington Badgers will round out the year against one another at 12:00 p.m. on Friday at. One thing working in Norris' favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last four games.
Last Friday, Norris strolled past Waverly with points to spare, taking the game 55-40. Given Norris' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 13th, while Waverly is ranked 148th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Norris to victory, but perhaps none more so than Evan Greenfield, who scored 19 points. Greenfield also posted two blocks for the first time this season. Another player making a difference was Chris Garner Jr., who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Bennington entered their tilt with Hastings with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. Bennington walked away with a 47-37 win over Hastings on Friday. Despite the win, that was the fewest points Bennington has scored all year.
Austin Kaiser was his usual excellent self, scoring 20 points along with three steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which he has scored at least 25% of Bennington's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jace Fitzgerald, who scored nine points along with three steals.
Norris pushed their record up to 7-1 with that victory, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Bennington, their win bumped their record up to 5-2.
Friday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Norris have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 27.5 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Bennington, though, as they've been averaging only 26.3 rebounds per game. Given Norris' sizeable advantage in that area, Bennington will need to find a way to close that gap.
Norris lost to Bennington on the road by a decisive 57-40 margin in their previous matchup back in January. Can Norris avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
