The Jefferson Yellowjackets will take on the Nebraska City Pioneers in a holiday battle at at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.
Jefferson is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Sioux City East on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Jefferson had to suffer through a 101-35 loss at the hands of Sioux City East. The game marked the Yellowjackets' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Meanwhile, Nebraska City was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They lost 63-37 to Syracuse. While losing is never fun, the Pioneers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 127th, while the Rockets are ranked 24th).
Jefferson will have to keep a close watch on Sam Rovetto and Caleb Walker, a pair of players who had a big impact on Nebraska City's prior game. Rovetto went 5 of 9 on his way to 13 points and five rebounds, while Walker posted 11 points and three steals. Those 13 points gave Rovetto a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Brayden Earll, who had five points.
Even though they lost, Nebraska City was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Jefferson's loss dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Nebraska City, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-5.
Everything came up roses for Jefferson against Nebraska City when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as the squad secured an 80-47 win. Will Jefferson repeat their success, or does Nebraska City have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
