Basketball Game Preview: Heath Bulldogs vs. Utica Redskins

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Previous Games

01/26/24 - Home	51-58 L
12/13/23 - Away	48-28 W
01/20/23 - Away	56-47 W
12/10/22 - Home	63-62 W
02/08/22 - Away	73-37 W
+ 5 more games

Heath is 9-1 against Utica since December of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Heath Bulldogs will head out on the road to take on the Utica Redskins at 7:00 p.m. Heath is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 53.8 points per game this season.

Heath is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Northridge: they outscored them in every quarter. Heath was the clear victor by a 54-28 margin over Northridge on Tuesday. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 101st, while the Vikings are ranked 461st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Heath's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jordan Kaminsky led the charge by going 8 for 12 en route to 18 points and four steals. Jaxon Duston was another key player, putting up five points in addition to eight rebounds, six assists, and six steals.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Utica). They came out on top against Newark Catholic by a score of 60-47 on Tuesday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Redskins considering their 28-point performance the game before.

Heath pushed their record up to 11-1 with the win, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.3 points per game. As for Utica, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 2-8.

Heath came up short against Utica in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, falling 58-51. Can Heath avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.