Preview: Leetonia Bears vs. East Palestine Bulldogs
Leetonia is 2-8 against East Palestine since February of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Leetonia Bears will head out on the road to face off against the East Palestine Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. Leetonia is hoping to put an end to a 20-game streak of away losses.
Leetonia suffered their biggest defeat since December 19, 2023 on Saturday. They were outmatched by Heartland Christian at home and fell 74-38. Leetonia has not had much luck with Heartland Christian recently, as the team's come up short the last six times they've met.
Despite the loss, Leetonia saw an underclassman step up: Dylan Johns scored 11 points.
East Palestine can finally bid farewell to their three-game losing streak thanks to their game on Tuesday. They enjoyed a cozy 61-47 victory over Academy for Urban Scholars. The victory was just what East Palestine needed coming off of a 82-54 defeat in their prior match.
East Palestine's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Kyler Bourne, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds, and Owen Jurjavicic, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds. That's the first time this season that Jurjavicic scored 15 or more points. Another player making a difference was RJ May, who scored eight points.
Leetonia's loss dropped their record down to 3-14. As for East Palestine, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 4-8.
Tuesday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: Leetonia have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 24.5 rebounds per game. It's a different story for East Palestine, though, as they've been averaging only 29.7 rebounds per game. Given Leetonia's sizeable advantage in that area, East Palestine will need to find a way to close that gap.
Leetonia came up short against East Palestine in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, falling 53-42. Can Leetonia avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
