The Lawrence Free State Firebirds are taking a road trip to face off against the Derby Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Lawrence Free State is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They came out on top against East by a score of 69-62. The Firebirds haven't had any issues with the Aces recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Meanwhile, Derby came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16.3 points), and they left with even more momentum. They claimed a resounding 73-43 win over the Colts. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Colts are ranked 252nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Derby's win came from a few key players Lawrence Free State will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Cale Clingan, who shot 58% from the field on his way to 16 points along with five boards and three steals. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in steals. Another player making a difference was Jack Ulwelling, who went 6-for-10 en route to 18 points and six rebounds.
Derby was working as a unit and finished the game with 25 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Derby's record now sits at 20-1. As for Lawrence Free State, the victory got them back to even at 9-9-1.
Lawrence Free State was dealt a bruising 74-45 defeat at the hands of Derby in their previous meeting back in January of 2024. Can Lawrence Free State avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
