As the regular season starts to come to a close there was still plenty to play for on Friday night between Axtell and Troy in Twin Valley League action as the Eagles hosted the Trojans and it was split on the evening. The lady Eagles picked up their 16th win of the season notching the 48-34 victory, while the Troy boys battled off Axtell for the 66-56 win.

The night started slow as Axtell worked out to a 6-0 early lead but Troy answered with a 5-0 midway through the first quarter making it a one-point game early. Out of a timeout Axtell strung a pair of buckets together to led 10-5 and led 10-7 after the first quarter. Neither team was able to get into a rhythm in the second quarter and the game headed into halftime with Axtell up 19-15. The scoring picked up in the second half and Axtell looked like they were going to push things in their favor early in the third with strong plays by Courtney Heinen but Troy's Breanna Smith had a seven point quarter and kept Troy right in the game. The fourth quarter Axtell took control and pushed their lead to double figures and secured the win with a 15-6 fourth period, to win 48-34.

Kiersten Talbot paced the Eagles with 18 points on the night and made an impact with her rebounding and defense too, to earn Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA radio. Heinen joined Talbot with double figures posting 12 points, as Axtell moved to 16-4 on the season and 9-2 in TVL play. Troy with the loss fell to 10-9 on the year and 5-7 in TVL action, as Smith led the Trojans with 18 points.

Unlike the girls matchup the boys game started off with a fast pace as both teams have put up plenty of points this season. Troy held the lead early but Axtell grabbed the lead at 16-14 and led 18-17 after the first quarter. The Trojans took the lead for themselves in the second quarter to led 40-32 at the half after a 7-0 spurt late in the quarter from a three-pointer by Collin Jasper and pair of steals in the backcourt that led to two Cuttar Huss layups. Both teams continued solid their performances in the third quarter as Axtell chipped into the Troy lead but the Trojans answered still holding an eight-point lead after three quarters. The fourth quarter as much of the same as Axtell got close but never could overcome the halftime deficit and Troy closed out the game for the 66-56 win.

The win pushes Troy's winning streak to nine-straight games as they are 16-3 on the seasons and 10-2 in the TVL, as Jasper paced the Trojans with 18 points to earn Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA radio. Nathan Gaarder added 15 points, while Jake Ross and Cuttar Huss each scored nine for Troy. Axtell with the loss fell to 8-11 on the year and 5-6 in TVL play, but have lost their last five games. Adam Kuckelman led Axtell with 14 points, while Shane Talbot scored 11 and Tyler Jones tallied 10 points.

Axtell wraps up the regular season on Tuesday on the road at Valley Heights, while Troy will take on county rival Doniphan West in Highland on Tuesday before wrapping the regular season on Thursday against Riverside.