Preview: Howland Tigers vs. Boardman Spartans
Howland is 2-8 against the Spartans since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Howland Tigers will look to defend their home court against the Boardman Spartans at 7:00 p.m. Howland will be strutting in after a victory while the Spartans will be coming in after a loss.
Last Tuesday, Howland was able to grind out a solid victory over the Falcons, taking the game 49-40. The win was all the more spectacular given Howland's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 312th, while the Falcons are ranked 100th).
Alex Henry continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 17 points along with five assists and two steals. Another player making a difference was John Perry, who scored eight points along with eight rebounds and three blocks.
Meanwhile, Boardman's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their 13th straight loss. They took a 60-50 hit to the loss column at the hands of Harding. Boardman has not had much luck with the Raiders recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
Despite the loss, Boardman got a solid performance out of Nico Holzschuh, who almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaden Mayhew, who scored 11 points.
Howland's win bumped their record up to 8-9. As for Boardman, their defeat was their seventh straight at home, which dropped their record down to 3-13.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Howland have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Boardman struggles in that department as they've been averaging 20.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Howland beat the Spartans 52-42 in their previous meeting back in January. Does Howland have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Spartans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
