Basketball Game Preview: Hamburg Hawks vs. Schuylkill Valley Panthers

Hamburg hasn't had much luck against Schuylkill Valley recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Hamburg Hawks will square off against the Schuylkill Valley Panthers at 7:30 p.m. Schuylkill Valley took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Hamburg, who comes in off a win.

Hamburg will bounce into Monday's contest after beating Pine Grove, who they had gone 0-7 against in their seven prior meetings. Hamburg enjoyed a cozy 70-51 win over Pine Grove on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Hawks.

Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Schuylkill Valley's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They fell 53-46 to Octorara Area. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 334th, while the Braves are ranked 139th).

Schuylkill Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 5-4. As for Hamburg, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-5 record this season.

Hamburg ended up a good deal behind Schuylkill Valley when the teams last played back in February of 2024, losing 68-53. Can Hamburg avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.