Even though the Heartland Mustangs scored an imposing 68 points on Friday, the Lutheran Knights still came out on top. Lutheran walked away with a 76-68 win over Heartland. That result was just more of the same for these two, as Lutheran also won the last time the pair played back in January.
Despite the loss, Heartland still got an impressive performance from Diego Martinez, who scored 24 points along with nine assists and eight rebounds. Martinez has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. Another player making a difference was Brent Ratliff, who scored 12 points along with nine rebounds.
Lutheran's win bumped their record up to 1-0. As for Heartland, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-4 record this season.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Lutheran will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Maranatha Christian Academy at 8:00 p.m. on January 11, 2024. Heartland and Clinton Christian Academy will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 8, 2024 without much rest after finishing up games yesterday.
