Elkhorn North is preparing for their first district matchup of the season on Friday. They will be defending their home court for the first time this season when they go up against the Bennington Badgers at 7:15 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
On Saturday, Elkhorn North came up short against Platteview and fell 65-58.
Despite the defeat, Elkhorn North got top-tier performance from Carter Peterson, who dropped a double-double with 20 points and 11 boards. Another player making a difference was Kellen Murphy, who almost dropped a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Bennington, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. They took down Crete 61-42 on Friday.
Elkhorn North better focus on containing Blaize Jung and Landon McCarville as the pair were huge in Bennington's win. Jung shot 50% from the field to rack up 17 points in addition to seven assists and six boards, while McCarville posted 19 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. Those 17 points gave Jung a new career-high. Brady Nichols was another key player, putting up eight points.
Bennington was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Crete only racked up seven.
Bennington pushed their record up to 1-1 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.8 points over those games. As for Elkhorn North, their loss dropped their record down to 0-2.
Everything went Elkhorn North's way against Bennington in their previous matchup back in March, as Elkhorn North made off with a 75-55 win. Do the Wolves have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Badgers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.