Basketball Game Preview: Joppatowne Mariners vs. Eastern Tech Mavericks

The Joppatowne Mariners are taking a road trip to face off against the Eastern Tech Mavericks at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Joppatowne came up short against Perryville on Monday, falling 46-21. While losing is never fun, the Mariners can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 271st, while the Panthers are ranked 93rd).

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Eastern Tech). They claimed a resounding 72-21 win over Owings Mills. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.

Eastern Tech is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a massive bump to their 9-12 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.4 points over those games. As for Joppatowne, they have been struggling recently as they've lost eight of their last nine matches, which has put a noticeable dent in their 3-13 record this season.

Joppatowne barely slipped by Eastern Tech in their previous matchup back in December of 2022, winning 44-43. The rematch might be a little tougher for Joppatowne since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.