The Belton Pirates lost against the Blue Valley Northwest Huskies back in January of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Tuesday. Belton suffered a tough 71-51 defeat at the hands of the Huskies. While losing is never fun, Belton 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 200th in Missouri, while the Huskies are ranked fifth in Kansas).
Several Pirates players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Kordell Williams, who scored 17 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Williams has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last five times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Cooper Shrum, who scored 13 points along with three blocks.
Joey Matteoni was his usual excellent self, scoring 17 points along with six rebounds and four steals for Blue Valley Northwest. Another player making a difference was Trevor Garlington, who scored 15 points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Belton's defeat dropped their record down to 3-14. As for Blue Valley Northwest, their win bumped their record up to 12-1.
Belton is on the road again on Friday and plays the Raiders on January 26th. As for Blue Valley Northwest, they will take on the Bluejays at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Junction City will be looking to keep their five-game home win streak alive.
