Preview: Tug Valley Panthers vs. Mingo Central Miners
Tug Valley is 0-7 against Mingo Central since December of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Tug Valley Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Mingo Central Miners at 7:30 p.m. Tug Valley is no doubt hoping to put an end to a five-game streak of away losses.
Last Monday, Tug Valley lost to St. Joseph Central at home by a decisive 54-40 margin. While losing is never fun, Tug Valley can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' West Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 95th, while St. Joseph Central is ranked 35th).
Despite the defeat, Tug Valley saw an underclassman step up: Bailee Hall scored 23 points along with six rebounds and two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Hall has scored all season. Haven Deskins was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with seven assists.
Meanwhile, Mingo Central came into Tuesday's contest having lost four straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They came out on top against Ritchie County by a score of 49-41 on Tuesday.
Tug Valley has not been sharp recently as the team's lost 11 of their last 12 games, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-17 record this season. As for Mingo Central, their victory bumped their record up to 11-8.
Tug Valley ended up a good deal behind Mingo Central in their previous matchup back in February of 2020, losing 73-55. Can Tug Valley avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
