Basketball Game Preview: Bluffton Tigers vs. Jay County Patriots

Bluffton is 1-9 against Jay County since January of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Bluffton Tigers will head out on the road to face off against the Jay County Patriots at 7:30 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Bluffton took a loss when they played away from home two weeks ago, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They skirted past Adams Central 49-46.

Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Jay County beat South Adams 49-45 on Friday. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 187th, while the Starfires are ranked 384th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Jay County pushed their record up to 8-5 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.3 points per game. As for Bluffton, they now have a winning record of 6-5.

Bluffton lost to Jay County on the road by a decisive 31-14 margin when the teams last played back in January of 2024. Can Bluffton avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.