Having just played yesterday, the Dundy County-Stratton Tigers will get right back to it and host the Alliance Bulldogs at 8:00 p.m. on February 9th. Hopefully Dundy County-Stratton focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 14 on Thursday.
On Thursday, Dundy County-Stratton beat Southern Valley 61-48. The win was just what Dundy County-Stratton needed coming off of a 50-26 defeat in their prior contest.
It was another big night for Jackson Kerchal, who dropped a double-double on 29 points and 21 rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of August Shaw, who scored 11 points.
Meanwhile, Alliance's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their eighth straight loss. They took a serious blow against Rapid City Christian, falling 79-49. While losing is never fun, Alliance can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 181st in Nebraska, while Rapid City Christian is ranked seventh in South Dakota).
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Espen Lanik, who scored 12 points along with three steals. Another player making a difference was Filippo Bandera, who scored 11 points.
Dundy County-Stratton is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-5 record this season. As for Alliance, they dropped their record down to 5-15 with that loss, which was their third straight at home.
Friday's matchup is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Dundy County-Stratton have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Alliance struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.7 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Dundy County-Stratton skirted past Alliance 69-66 when the teams last played back in January of 2023. Will Dundy County-Stratton repeat their success, or does Alliance have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
