Basketball Game Preview: Grove City Eagles vs. Meadville Bulldogs

Grove City is on a seven-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Meadville is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Grove City Eagles will host the Meadville Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Last Saturday, Grove City earned a 50-38 victory over General McLane. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 86th, while the Lancers are ranked 370th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Meadville hadn't done well against Erie recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Meadville strolled past Erie with points to spare, taking the game 76-58.

Meadville's win came from a few key players Grove City will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jack Burchard, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten boards. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 2.3 steals per game. Lucas Luteran was another key player, going 8 of 13 on his way to 22 points and eight rebounds.

Meadville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 19 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Meadville's win bumped their record up to 9-1. As for Grove City, their victory bumped their record up to 9-2.

Grove City beat Meadville 57-47 when the teams last played back in January of 2024. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Burchard, who almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine boards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Grove City still be able to contain Burchard? There's only one way to find out.