Basketball Game Preview: Purchase Line Red Dragons vs. River Valley Panthers

Purchase Line hasn't had much luck against River Valley recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Red Dragons will head out to face off against the Panthers at 7:15 p.m. Purchase Line has given up an average of 60.2 points per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Purchase Line is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Penns Manor an easy 73-48 victory.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when River Valley took on Homer-Center on Tuesday. The Panthers breezed past the Wildcats to the tune of 71-35. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three games by 20 points or more this season.

The win made it two in a row for River Valley and bumps their season record up to 5-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.5 points over those games. As for Purchase Line, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-4.

Purchase Line suffered a grim 65-39 defeat to River Valley in their previous meeting back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Panthers' Max Persichetti, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards. Now that the Red Dragons know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.