Basketball Game Preview: Bernards Mountaineers vs. Columbia Cougars

The Bernards Mountaineers will head out to square off against the Columbia Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Last Tuesday, Bernards beat Belvidere 58-47. Given the Mountaineers' advantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey basketball rankings (they are ranked 43rd, while the County Seaters are ranked 167th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Columbia had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Blue Devils 67-27. The game marked the Cougars' most dominant win of the season so far.

Columbia's victory bumped their record up to 3-5. As for Bernards, their win bumped their record up to 6-1.

Bernards came out on top in a nail-biter against Columbia in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, sneaking past 49-47. The rematch might be a little tougher for Bernards since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.