Basketball Game Preview: Rootstown Rovers vs. Crestwood Red Devils

The Rootstown Rovers will challenge the Crestwood Red Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Rootstown has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the game with five straight defeats, while Crestwood will come in with eight straight victories.

Rootstown is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They fell just short of Southeast by a score of 57-55 on Saturday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Rovers have suffered since November 29th.

Meanwhile, Crestwood really took it to Ravenna for the full four quarters, racking up a 78-44 win. The Red Devils have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matchups by 20 points or more this season.

Crestwood's win came from a few key players Rootstown will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was James Durham, who went 8 for 10 on his way to 19 points and six rebounds. Those 19 points gave him a new career-high. Steven Lincoln was another key player, going 9 of 16 on his way to 22 points.

Crestwood was working as a unit and finished the game with 27 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive contests.

Crestwood pushed their record up to 8-0 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 30.5 points. As for Rootstown, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-7.

Rootstown ended up a good deal behind Crestwood when the teams last played back in December of 2023, losing 55-40. Will Rootstown have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.