Basketball Game Preview: Valley Tigers vs. Johnston Dragons

The Valley Tigers will head out on the road to square off against the Johnston Dragons at 7:45 p.m. on Friday. Valley knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past eight games -- so hopefully Johnston likes a good challenge.

Valley is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Urbandale 79-53 on Friday. Given the Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Iowa basketball rankings (they are ranked tenth, while the J-Hawks are ranked 121st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Johnston was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They were three points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 49-46 heartbreaker at the hands of Dowling Catholic.

Valley pushed their record up to 7-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.8 points per game. As for Johnston, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-7.

Valley didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Johnston in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, but they still walked away with a 58-52 victory. Does Valley have another victory up their sleeve, or will Johnston turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.