Pender has been on the road for two straight, but on Saturday they'll finally head home. They will be home for the holidays to greet the Stanton Mustangs. Hopefully Pender is not getting complacent, as they presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Stanton in Nebraska (Pender is ranked 111th, while Stanton is ranked 272nd).
Even though Pender has not done well against Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Pender came out on top in a nail-biter against Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family and snuck past 42-39.
Pender's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Aiden Beckman led the charge by scoring 16 points along with eight rebounds. That's the first time this season that Beckman scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Alex Roth, who scored six points along with 11 rebounds and five assists.
Meanwhile, this season hasn't been kind to Stanton, who are still winless after their fifth matchup. They had to suffer through a rough 73-23 loss at the hands of Wakefield. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Stanton in their matchups with Wakefield: they've now lost eight in a row.
Pender pushed their record up to 4-2 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road. As for Stanton, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-5.
Pender came out on top in a nail-biter against Stanton in their previous matchup back in December of 2022, sneaking past 69-66. Will Pender repeat their success, or does Stanton have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
