The Elm Creek Buffaloes will square off against the Sumner-Eddyville-Miller Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Sumner-Eddyville-Miller will take on a team with plenty of momentum: Elm Creek extended their winning streak to three on Monday. The Buffaloes blew past Bertrand 65-41. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Buffaloes just coasted through the last quarter.
Quin Oberg
| 12/08/25 @ Bertrand | 25 |
| 12/05/25 @ Southern Valley | 22 |
| 12/04/25 vs Shelton | 24 |
| 03/12/25 vs McCool Junction | 20 |
| 03/03/25 vs Hitchcock County | 29 |
| + 2 more games |
Elm Creek can attribute much of their success to Quin Oberg, who went 11-for-21 on his way to 25 points and six steals, and Kolten Keim, who shot 86% from beyond the arc to rack up 18 points and four steals. The matchup was Oberg's seventh in a row with at least 20 points. Another player making a difference was Blake Erickson, who posted 11 points and six rebounds.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Sumner-Eddyville-Miller against Sandhills Valley on Monday as the team secured a 62-29 win. With the Mustangs ahead 32-9 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
Sumner-Eddyville-Miller found their leader in freshman Braxton Line, who went 8-for-17 en route to 17 points and seven steals. Line is crushing it when it comes to steals: he's grabbed at least two every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Preston Beattie, who shot 46% from the field to rack up 13 points and three steals.
Sumner-Eddyville-Miller smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in seven consecutive games dating back to last season.
Sumner-Eddyville-Miller's victory bumped their record up to 3-0. As for Elm Creek, their win bumped their record up to an identical 3-0.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Elm Creek has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24 boards per game. However, it's not like Sumner-Eddyville-Miller struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Elm Creek came out on top in a nail-biter against Sumner-Eddyville-Miller when the teams last played back in December of 2024, sneaking past 69-67. Will the Buffaloes repeat their success, or do the Mustangs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
