Basketball Game Preview: Saranac Spartans vs. Peru Nighthawks

Saranac has gone 10-0 against Peru recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Saranac Spartans will be playing at home against the Peru Nighthawks at 7:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Saranac has four straight victories, Peru has six straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Last Wednesday, Saranac made easy work of AuSable Valley and carried off a 46-26 win. The Spartans pushed the score to 41-16 by the end of the third, a deficit the Patriots cut but never quite recovered from.

Carson Duffield continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 15 points and 14 rebounds. What's more, he also racked up two steals, the most he's had since back in February of 2024. Another player making a difference was Henry Napper, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 13 boards.

Saranac smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in five consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Peru was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Wednesday as they fell 50-46 to Saranac Lake. While losing is never fun, the Nighthawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 778th, while the Red Storm are ranked 272nd).

Saranac pushed their record up to 7-8 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 25 points. As for Peru, their loss dropped their record down to 1-15.

Saranac strolled past Peru in their previous matchup back in December of 2024 by a score of 55-41. Does Saranac have another victory up their sleeve, or will Peru turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.