Basketball Game Preview: Purchase Line Red Dragons vs. River Valley Panthers

Purchase Line is 0-5 against River Valley since December of 2021 but things could change on Thursday. The Purchase Line Red Dragons will head out to square off against the River Valley Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Purchase Line is headed into Thursday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their sixth straight game on Tuesday. They had to suffer through a 61-25 loss at the hands of Northern Cambria. The game marked the Red Dragons' lowest-scoring match so far this season.

Despite their defeat, Purchase Line saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Ian Layden, who posted eight points, was perhaps the best of all.

Meanwhile, River Valley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They fell 73-61 to Portage. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 399th, while the Mustangs are ranked 142nd).

Purchase Line's defeat dropped their record down to 2-13. As for River Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 7-9.

Purchase Line lost to River Valley on the road by a decisive 66-52 margin in their previous matchup back in December of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of River Valley's Max Persichetti, who went 10 of 20 on his way to 29 points along with eight assists and five boards. Now that Purchase Line knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.