Preview: Jefferson Raiders vs. Kent-Meridian Royals
Jefferson has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on the Kent-Meridian Royals at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Jefferson suffered their biggest defeat yet this season on Friday. They were dealt a 88-38 defeat at the hands of Auburn. While losing is never fun, Jefferson can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Washington basketball rankings (they are ranked 294th, while Auburn is ranked third).
Despite the defeat, Jefferson got a solid performance out of Jakob Bolli, who scored 16 points along with seven rebounds. That's the first time this season that Bolli scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Josias Kpontont, who scored eight points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Kent-Meridian pushed their score all the way to 60 on Monday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 70-60 hit to the loss column at the hands of Beamer. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Kent-Meridian in their matchups with Beamer: they've now lost four in a row.
Jefferson bumped their record down to 1-11 with that loss, which was their third straight at home. As for Kent-Meridian, they have traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-10 record this season.
Things could have been worse for Jefferson, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 69-55 loss to Kent-Meridian in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. Can Jefferson avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
