Basketball Game Preview: Wise Pumas vs. Laurel Spartans

Wise has gone 10-0 against Laurel recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Monday. The Wise Pumas will face off against the Laurel Spartans at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in Wise's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last six matches.

On Saturday, Wise earned a 75-63 win over St. Mary's Ryken.

Wise's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Dion Walker led the charge by almost dropping a double-double on 24 points and nine boards. The game was Walker's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Cayden Hargrove, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Laurel had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.7 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Wildcats 92-56. The Spartans have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 23 points or more this season.

Wise better keep an eye on Jermaine Taylor. He was instrumental in Laurel's win, putting up 30 points. That's the most points Taylor has posted since back in January of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Aiden Lee, who posted 16 points.

Laurel's victory bumped their record up to 8-1. As for Wise, their win bumped their record up to 10-2.

Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Wise hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 70.2 points per game. However, it's not like Laurel struggles in that department as they've been averaging 78.9 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.

Wise came out on top in a nail-biter against Laurel in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, sneaking past 58-55. Does Wise have another victory up their sleeve, or will Laurel turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.