Basketball Game Preview: Belton Pirates vs. Raytown Bluejays

The Belton Pirates will head out to face off against the Raytown Bluejays at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Last Tuesday, Belton strolled past Chrisman with points to spare, taking the game 71-55. The Pirates pushed the score to 58-38 by the end of the third, a deficit the Bears cut but never quite recovered from.

Belton's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jw Johnson led the charge by going 5 of 11 en route to 19 points and three steals. That's the most points Johnson has posted since back in February of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jayce Maiden, who went 6 for 8 on his way to 12 points and five boards.

Meanwhile, Raytown waltzed into their game on Tuesday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. They were the clear victor by an 84-60 margin over the Golden Eagles. The Bluejays' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.

Raytown has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 14-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.1 points per game. As for Belton, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 7-11.

Belton suffered a grim 76-50 defeat to Raytown when the teams last played on January 15th. Can Belton avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.