The Mid-Prairie boys and girls basketball teams are on the floor for the first time in the new season tonight when they host the Tipton Tigers in Wellman.

The Golden Hawk boys are coming off of a 7-17 season, their most wins since 2013-14 and a 5-13 mark in the River Valley Conference. The Golden Hawks had three all-conference selections in Caleb Statler, Carter Reinier and Derek Rich who all moved on through graduation. Mid-Prairie does return point guard Brad Tornow who finished third in the conference with 71 assists.

Tipton comes into tonight off of a 13-11 season. The Tigers were 10-8 in the River Valley. Tipton returns the conference’s second leading scorer in Logan Hoffman who averaged 23 per contest a season ago. Hoffman also led the Tigers and was second in the conference in rebounding with 189 boards.

Tipton swept this series a year ago, winning a pair of tight games, 71-69 in Wellman and 74-68 in Tipton.

The Mid-Prairie girls also get their season underway tonight against the Tigers. The Golden Hawks open play off of a 17-7 season a year ago. The Golden Hawks were 13-5 in the River Valley Conference, finishing second in the RVC South. The Golden Hawks had four players recognized with all-conference honors a year ago including seniors Ali Butters and Ireland Hostetler who moved on through graduation, Mid-Prairie does return all-conference performers Addie Rath and Shae Becker. Rath led the team in scoring and was 10th in the conference at 14 points per game. her 105 assists were second in the conference and eighth in the state.

Tipton comes into tonight after finishing last year with a 6-17 overall record. The Tigers were 3-15 inside the River Valley Conference. The Tigers return their leading scorer in Emily Hermsen at 12 points per game. She also led them with 61 assists. The Tigers leading rebounder Jamie Kofron is also back after a season that saw her pull in 197 boards fourth most in the conference.

The Golden Hawks swept the Tigers in a pair of games last year, winning 62-51 on the road and 43-41 in Wellman. You can hear all of the action tonight between the Tigers and the Golden Hawks, live on AM 1380, FM 102.5 and KCIIradio.com, beginning with the Washington HyVee pregame show at 5:30 and tipoff at 6p.m. live from Tim Grady Gymnasium in Wellman.