Panthers, Wolverines meet for first time in 41 years
Saturday afternoon, two teams that haven’t met in more than 40 years will take to the basketball court in a battle for area bragging rights.
The Class 3A ninth-rated Creston Panthers travel to Greenfield for a 5 p.m. tip with Class 2A top-rated Nodaway Valley.
The two teams have not met since the 1971-72 season, when Creston met Greenfield. Creston also won a contest against Greenfield in the 1970-71 season, winning 74-42.
Nodaway Valley enters tonight’s games with a 13-0 record and hosts Central Decatur tonight.
The Wolverines average 75.8 points per game, while allowing just 28.9 points per game. The Wolverines shoot 51.8 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from 3-point. Nodaway Valley shoots at a 65.3 percent clip from the free throw line.
The team averages 31.2 rebounds per game.
Seniors Alex Welsch and Brad Baudler lead the team in scoring, averaging 17.4 points and 17.2 points per game, respectively.
Welsch, a 6-8 post player, shoots 63.6 percent from the field and 76.9 percent from the free throw line, while averaging 10.6 rebounds per game to go with 4.0 blocks per game.
Baudler, meanwhile, averages 3.9 assists per game and 2.5 steals per game. He also pulls down 3.2 rebounds per game.
Junior TJ Bower averages 10.8 points per game with 5.3 rebounds per game. Seniors Dan Ehrsam and Dean Frank both average 9.7 points per game this season. Frank has played in just six games this season since returning from a knee injury.
Creston enters tonight’s game at Shenandoah with a 10-2 record. The Panthers average 59.2 points per game and give up an average of 39.6 points per game.
Creston shoots 48.5 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from behind the 3-point arc. Collectively, Creston shoots 66 percent as a team from the free throw line. Creston grabs and average of 24.3 rebounds per game.
Senior Colby Taylor leads the Panthers in scoring with 13.8 points per game, shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 45.6 percent on 3-pointers. Taylor also averages 4.4 rebounds per game.
Luke Neitzel averages 11.1 points per game and a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game. Neitzel also collects 2.75 steals per game. Senior Briar Evans scores 8.1 points per game and averages 4.4 rebounds per game.
Trey Thomsen averages 7.5 points per game and Kainen Somers scores 4.8 points per game while leading the team with 3.1 assists per game.
The varsity game is scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m., with freshman and junior varsity action to precede it.
