Basketball Game Preview: Pe Ell Trojans vs. Naselle Comets

Pe Ell is 1-7 against Naselle since May of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Pe Ell Trojans will look to defend their home court against the Naselle Comets at 3:45 p.m. Pe Ell is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 53.4 points per game this season.

While Pe Ell didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They strolled past Non Varsity Opponent with points to spare on Saturday, taking the game 58-43. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Trojans.

Blake Nelson and Liam McGrath were among the main playmakers for Pe Ell as the former went 8 of 11 on his way to 16 points and five rebounds and the latter went 6 of 8 on his way to 12 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Wyatt Harris, who posted ten points.

Pe Ell smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in four consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Naselle hadn't done well against Ilwaco recently (they were 1-7 in their previous eight matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. Naselle secured a 48-42 W over Ilwaco. The 48-point effort marked the Comets' lowest-scoring matchup of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Pe Ell has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.8 points per game. As for Naselle, their win bumped their record up to 4-1.

Pe Ell suffered a grim 53-33 defeat to Naselle in their previous matchup back in January. Can Pe Ell avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.