Basketball Preview: Chenango Valley Warriors vs. Chenango Forks Blue Devils
Chenango Valley and the Blue Devils are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2020, but not for long. The Chenango Valley Warriors will head out on the road to challenge the Chenango Forks Blue Devils at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
Last Saturday, Chenango Valley had to suffer through a rough 71-35 loss at the hands of the Saints. Chenango Valley was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 44-13.
Meanwhile, Chenango Forks was beaten by the Wolverines 79-35 on Saturday. While losing is never fun, Chenango Forks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 380th, while the Wolverines are ranked 65th).
Despite their defeat, Chenango Forks saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Walker Paske, who scored 11 points along with two steals, was perhaps the best of all. Another player making a difference was Stephen Samsel, who scored ten points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Chenango Forks struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Chenango Valley has been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-9 record this season. As for Chenango Forks, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-10.
Chenango Valley came up short against the Blue Devils in their previous meeting back in January, falling 68-58. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Samsel, who scored 35 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. Now that Chenango Valley knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
