Basketball Game Preview: Covenant Christian Warriors vs. Owen Valley Patriots

The Covenant Christian Warriors will face off against the Owen Valley Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Covenant Christian knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past three contests -- so hopefully Owen Valley likes a good challenge.

While Covenant Christian didn't have the best season last year (they finished 8-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They walked away with a 63-52 win over Whitko on Saturday. Given the Warriors' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 172nd, while the Wildcats are ranked 368th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Covenant Christian to victory, but perhaps none more so than Bryce Harris, who went 5 of 7 en route to 18 points and three steals. Harris is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Isaac Crane, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Owen Valley had to suffer through a 67-34 loss at the hands of North Vermillion.

Covenant Christian will need focus on slowing down Rhet Heckman, one of several Owen Valley players who made an impact when they last played. He posted five points and eight rebounds. Another player making a difference was Jesse Durnil, who put up six points.

Covenant Christian's victory bumped their record up to 7-2. As for Owen Valley, their loss was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 2-7.