Basketball Recap: Martins Ferry Piles Up the Points Against Bellaire

A well-balanced attack led Martins Ferry over Bellaire in every quarter on their way to victory on Saturday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Martins Ferry Purple Riders blew the Bellaire Big Reds out of the water with a 78-35 final score. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Purple Riders had established a 33 point advantage.

Despite the defeat, Bellaire saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Raekwon Pettigrew posted 16 points and five boards. Pettigrew's afternoon made it five games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Ethan Ostrander also deserves some recognition as he posted his first block of the season.

Purple Riders

Previous 3 Games (Home)

02/01/25 vs Bellaire	78-35
01/29/25 vs Buckeye Local	66-20
01/21/25 vs Buckeye Trail	40-37

Martins Ferry's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-8. As for Bellaire, the loss snapped their winning streak at four games and leaves them with a 9-9 record.

Martins Ferry will be playing in front of their home fans against Harrison Central at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Martins Ferry knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past three contests -- so hopefully Harrison Central likes a good challenge. As for Bellaire, they are taking a road trip to face off against Barnesville at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Bellaire is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 58.6 points per game this season.