Basketball Game Preview: St. John Woodchucks vs. Drayton/Valley-Edinburg Titans

St. John is on a seven-game streak of home losses also dating back to last season, Drayton/Valley-Edinburg a ten-game streak of away losses also dating back to last season, but someone's luck will change on Friday. The St. John Woodchucks will welcome the Drayton/Valley-Edinburg Titans at 7:00 p.m. St. John has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.

St. John is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took a hard 87-69 fall against New Rockford-Sheyenne on Tuesday. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Monday (67), the Woodchucks still had to take the loss.

St. John's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Ashton Parisien, who went 8 of 19 on his way to 29 points and eight assists, and Madden Parisien, who went 7 for 11 from beyond the arc en route to 23 points. The contest was Madden's third in a row with at least ten points. Simon LaRocque was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on ten points and nine boards.

They weren't the only one working in the assists department: St. John was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in five consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Drayton/Valley-Edinburg didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Benson County [Leeds/Maddock] on Monday, but they still walked away with a 60-55 win. That looming 60-55 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Titans yet this season.

Drayton/Valley-Edinburg has also been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 3-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.5 points per game. As for St. John, their loss dropped their record down to 2-7.

St. John couldn't quite finish off Drayton/Valley-Edinburg in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 and fell 50-48. Will St. John have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.