Basketball Game Preview: Drayton/Valley-Edinburg Titans vs. St. John Woodchucks

The Drayton/Valley-Edinburg Titans will face off against the St. John Woodchucks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Last Monday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Drayton/Valley-Edinburg beat Benson County [Leeds/Maddock] 60-55. That looming 60-55 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Titans yet this season.

Meanwhile, St. John scored the most points they've had this season on Tuesday, but it wasn't enough. The game between them and New Rockford-Sheyenne didn't end well, with St. John falling 87-69. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Monday (67), the Woodchucks still had to take the loss.

Drayton/Valley-Edinburg will have to keep a close watch on Ashton Parisien and Madden Parisien, a pair of players who had a big impact on St. John's prior game. Ashton went 8 of 19 on his way to 29 points and eight assists, while Madden went 7 for 11 from beyond the arc en route to 23 points. Madden's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Simon LaRocque, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine boards.

Even though they lost, St. John was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in five consecutive matchups.

Drayton/Valley-Edinburg is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 3-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.5 points per game. As for St. John, they have been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-7 record this season.

Drayton/Valley-Edinburg skirted past St. John 50-48 in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Will Drayton/Valley-Edinburg repeat their success, or does St. John have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.