Basketball Game Preview: Nitro Wildcats vs. Poca Dots

Nitro and Poca are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2020, but not for long. The Nitro Wildcats will welcome the Poca Dots at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The timing is sure in Nitro's favor as the squad sits on 20 straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Poca has been banged up by eight consecutive losses on the road.

Nitro is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of West Virginia's top teams: Hoover, who was ranked 24th at the time (Nitro was ranked 12th). Nitro strolled past Hoover with points to spare on Tuesday, taking the game 59-44. The Wildcats haven't had any issues with the Huskies recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Collin Crouch

Points

02/18/25 @ Hoover	18
02/14/25 vs St. Albans	13
02/10/25 vs Charleston Catholic	10
02/08/25 @ Lincoln County	9
02/07/25 @ Chapmanville Regional	11
+ 13 more games

Nitro's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Collin Crouch, who went 8-for-10 en route to 18 points. Crouch continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Ashton Crouch, who went 8-for-13 to rack up 18 points and six boards.

Meanwhile, Poca was beaten by Winfield 87-52 on Friday.

Poca's loss dropped their record down to 3-15. As for Nitro, their victory bumped their record up to 14-4.

Everything came up roses for Nitro against Poca when the teams last played back in December of 2024, as the team secured a 74-28 win. Does Nitro have another victory up their sleeve, or will Poca turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.