Preview: Nelsonville-York Buckeyes vs. Athens Bulldogs
The Nelsonville-York Buckeyes will head out on the road to face off against the Athens Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Nelsonville-York knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past four matchups -- so hopefully Athens likes a good challenge.
Nelsonville-York put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Wellston 73-33 at home. While fans of Nelsonville-York might be used to big wins, the 40-point margin marked the team's biggest victory yet this season.
Keagan Swope was his usual excellent self, shooting 6-for-10 from deep and almost dropping a double-double on 22 points and nine assists. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last nine games he's played. Another player making a difference was Briant Call, who scored 11 points along with five assists and two steals.
Meanwhile, Athens' recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their fourth straight loss. They received a tough blow as they fell 50-35 to Federal Hocking. While losing is never fun, Athens can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 760th, while Federal Hocking is ranked 268th).
Nelsonville-York pushed their record up to 13-8 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. They've been dominating during the contests in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 35 points. As for Athens, they have been struggling recently as they've lost ten of their last 11 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-17 record this season.
Nelsonville-York was able to grind out a solid victory over Athens in their previous meeting back in January, winning 63-54. The rematch might be a little tougher for Nelsonville-York since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
