Match-Up Preview: Stevens vs Central Re-Match
At 7pm Mountain time this evening #1 Stevens and #3 Central go head to head. Who wins? The players will decide that but here is a quick look at the match-ups this evening.
Central has low two in a row and four of their last five games. The Cobblers started the season with wins in their first 11 games and need to get back on track before March comes around. Stevens has fought their way to the top spot in the sate not only with a 15-2 record but they have beat Lincoln, O’Gorman, and of course Central (57-53).
Tonight the game is at Central and considering the last game had a massive number of fans, this would could hit capacity. Here is a look at the potential match-ups this evening from an outlook type of view.
Connor King (5-8, Sr, Guard) of Stevens vs Dylan Hay (5-9, Sr, Guard) of Central. King is coming off 16 points versus Lincoln and 17 versus Central, a game in which King hit four threes to really give his team a late edge. Hay was one of the stories of the early season but as of late King stepped into the spotlight. King and Hay are the engines leading these teams and Hay has the taste of the last game fresh in his mouth. This will be a highlight match-up to watch close as they are of similar size.
Cooper Bowman (6-0, Sr, Guard) of Stevens vs Cameron Hall (6-2, Sr, Forward) of Central. Bowman is coming off a big game against Lincoln where his shooting touch netted him 15 key points. Hall has been a game changer with his touch this winter making runs of two or three quick treys in a row at times seem normal.
Dawson Paulsen (6-3, Jr, Wing) of Stevens vs Kailleb Walton-Blanden (6-2, Sr, Guard) of Central. Get the highlights ready, these two could fill them up. Paulsen has recently had 12 versus Lincoln and 20 against Scottsbluff. He’s rising quickly in the junior class. KWB on the other hand has been labeled as a statewide player of the year candidate taking games over at many points during the year. Double digit game changing quarters is nothing new. He had a big second half in the loss to Stevens 13 days ago.
Will Moore (6-5, Sr, Forward) of Stevens vs Elijah Williams (6-6, Jr, Forward) of Central. Moore had a dozen in the first game while Williams was one point off with 11. When Williams touched the ball good things happened. Tonight he should get more chances and touches.
Gabe Elder (6-2, Sr, Post) of Sevens vs Mason McBride (6-4, Sr, Forward) of Central. Here is your role player physical battle up front. Elder had a double-double in the Scoopers win. Whomever stays on the floor and makes the hustle plays will help his team in a big way.
Senior X-Factor. Trey Eblerlein (6-4, Sr, Wing) had ten in the Scottbluff win for Stevens while Jaxson Schmaltz made that late run with his jumper against Washington. Maybe that hot hand gets more time and stays hot?