Basketball Game Preview: Pender Patriots vs. Heide Trask Titans

Pender is 2-8 against Heide Trask since January of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Pender Patriots will take on the Heide Trask Titans at 7:30 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Pender is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They were the clear victor by a 64-41 margin over West Columbus on Friday. The team's explosion on offense also rewarded the Patriots with their most commanding win of the season.

Pender's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ryan Howell, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Howell a new career-high in steals (three). Another player making a difference was Jordan Hansley, who posted 18 points and three steals.

Meanwhile, Heide Trask was able to grind out a solid victory over East Columbus on Friday, taking the game 60-50.

Heide Trask is also on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a massive bump to their 8-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.2 points per game. As for Pender, their win ended a seven-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 3-7.

Pender was taken down by Heide Trask 83-37 when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Can Pender avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.