Basketball Game Preview: Urbana Hillclimbers vs. Jonathan Alder Pioneers

Urbana is 2-8 against Jonathan Alder since November of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Urbana Hillclimbers will be playing at home against the Jonathan Alder Pioneers at 1:30 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.

Last Monday, Urbana lost to Versailles on the road by a 64-50 margin.

Despite the loss, Urbana got top-tier performance from Peyton Mounce, who went 8 for 20 en route to 23 points along with seven boards and four blocks. That was a full 46% of Urbana's points, marking the 12th time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Addi Hegyi, who put up 11 points.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Alder lost 59-36 to Allen East on Monday. While losing is never fun, the Pioneers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 569th, while the Mustangs are ranked 103rd).

Urbana's defeat dropped their record down to 14-3. As for Jonathan Alder, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-12.

Urbana took their victory against Jonathan Alder when the teams last played back in December of 2024 by a conclusive 51-29. Does Urbana have another victory up their sleeve, or will Jonathan Alder turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.