Basketball Game Preview: Loveland Tigers vs. Turpin Spartans

Loveland hasn't had much luck against Turpin recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Loveland Tigers will square off against the Turpin Spartans at 7:30 p.m. Loveland knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past four contests -- so hopefully Turpin likes a good challenge.

Loveland is headed into the matchup having just posted their closest win since December 27, 2023 on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Anderson, sneaking past 57-54. Given the Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 172nd, while the Raptors are ranked 509th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Turpin's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They took a 60-49 hit to the loss column at the hands of Archbishop McNicholas.

Loveland has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.1 points per game. As for Turpin, they now have a losing record at 9-10.

Loveland came up short against Turpin when the teams last played back in January, falling 45-32. Can Loveland avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.