New Prairie is 3-0 against Boone Grove since December of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The New Prairie Cougars will be home for the holidays to greet the Boone Grove Wolves at 7:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Last Tuesday, New Prairie had to suffer through a rough 73-33 loss at the hands of Mishawaka. While losing is never fun, New Prairie can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 376th, while Mishawaka is ranked 22nd).
Despite their loss, New Prairie saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Trenton Klute, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Those 11 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Devan Kalicki, who scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, Boone Grove was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Tuesday as they fell 52-47 to Highland.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jack Stevens, who scored 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Corey Noonan, who scored 12 points.
New Prairie bumped their record down to 1-6 with that loss, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Boone Grove, their loss dropped their record down to 1-5.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's game: New Prairie have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 4.4 threes per game. It's a different story for Boone Grove, though, as they've been averaging only 6 threes per game. Given New Prairie's sizeable advantage in that area, Boone Grove will need to find a way to close that gap.
New Prairie was able to grind out a solid victory over Boone Grove in their previous matchup back in January, winning 75-62. Will New Prairie repeat their success, or does Boone Grove have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
