Bennington has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. The Bennington Badgers and the Norris Titans will round out the year against one another at 12:00 p.m. on Friday at. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, Bennington was able to grind out a solid win over Hastings, taking the game 47-37. Despite the win, that was the fewest points Bennington has scored all year.
It was another big night for Austin Kaiser, who scored 20 points along with three steals. The match was his seventh in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jace Fitzgerald, who scored nine points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Norris came tearing into Friday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 30 points) and they left with even more momentum. They 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.
Norris got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Evan Greenfield out in front who scored 19 points. Greenfield set a new season high mark in blocks with two. Chris Garner Jr. was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with seven rebounds.
Bennington's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-2. As for Norris, their victory bumped their record up to 7-1.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Bennington have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 26.3 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Norris, though, as they've been averaging only 27.5 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Bennington strolled past Norris in their previous matchup back in January by a score of 57-40. The rematch might be a little tougher for Bennington since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
