Basketball Game Preview: Valley Rams vs. Notre Dame Academy Irish Wolfhounds

The Valley Rams and the Notre Dame Academy Irish Wolfhounds will face off at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played. Both are out to turn their luck around after having lost tight contests in their previous games.

Valley is headed into Saturday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Friday. They were three points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 41-38 heartbreaker at the hands of Deerfield-Windsor. While losing is never fun, the Rams can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 303rd in Alabama, while the Knights are ranked 27th in Georgia).

The losing side was boosted by Galvin Goss, who went 5 for 10 on his way to 12 points and five rebounds. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in assists (four). Azerion Jennings was another key player, putting up nine points.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame Academy didn't have quite enough to beat Tuscaloosa Academy on Friday and fell 59-57. The Irish Wolfhounds have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Valley will have to contain Ki?Andrey Thomas as he made an impact in Notre Dame Academy's last game. He went 9 of 17 on his way to 25 points and six rebounds. Thomas has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 13 times he's played. Another player making a difference was Geronimo Holmes, who posted 12 points and seven rebounds.

Notre Dame Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 9-7. As for Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 2-7.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Valley has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Notre Dame Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.