Basketball Game Preview: Clearbrook-Gonvick Bears vs. Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal Titans

The Clearbrook-Gonvick Bears will venture away from home to square off against the Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal Titans at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 77-27, which was the final score in Clearbrook-Gonvick's tilt against Pine River-Backus on Tuesday. The Bears have struggled against the Tigers recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.

Meanwhile, Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They were beaten by Hawley 82-52. While losing is never fun, the Titans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked 347th, while the Nuggets are ranked 127th).

Clearbrook-Gonvick's loss dropped their record down to 7-17. As for Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-25.

Everything came up roses for Clearbrook-Gonvick against Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal when the teams last played back in January, as the team secured a 68-17 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Clearbrook-Gonvick since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.