Preview: Panther Valley Panthers vs. Tamaqua Blue Raiders
Panther Valley has been on the road for three straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will take on the Tamaqua Blue Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in Pennsylvania (Panther Valley is ranked 385th, while the Blue Raiders are ranked 383rd).
Panther Valley struggled with three-point shooting accuracy on Tuesday (the Crimson Tide were 76% better) and sadly the final score reflected it. Panther Valley was the victim of a tough 63-43 defeat at the hands of the Crimson Tide.
Panther Valley's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Logan Fisher, who scored six points along with 11 rebounds, and Chase Weaver who scored 11 points along with five rebounds.
Panther Valley struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Tamaqua over the Cardinals in every quarter on their way to victory on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Tamaqua blew the Cardinals out of the water with a 59-31 final score. With Tamaqua ahead 37-13 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
Tamaqua can attribute much of their success to Noah Mateyak, who scored 18 points along with four steals, and Connor Dillon, who scored 25 points along with three steals. Mateyak hasn't dropped below 16 points for nine straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Cooper Ansbach, who scored five points along with seven assists and seven rebounds.
Panther Valley has not been sharp recently as the team's lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 11-8 record this season. As for Tamaqua, the victory got them back to even at 10-10.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Panther Valley have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Tamaqua struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.7 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Panther Valley skirted past the Blue Raiders 49-47 in their previous matchup back in January. Does Panther Valley have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Blue Raiders turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
