Basketball Game Preview: Steel Valley Ironmen vs. Shady Side Academy Bulldogs

The Steel Valley Ironmen are taking a road trip to square off against the Shady Side Academy Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Steel Valley lost 44-23 to Avella on Friday. The Ironmen have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Shady Side Academy put another one in the bag on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They were the clear victor by a 60-40 margin over Pine-Richland. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked tenth, while the Rams are ranked 268th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Shady Side Academy pushed their record up to 10-0 with the victory, which was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 34 points. As for Steel Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-7.

Steel Valley strolled past Shady Side Academy in their previous matchup back in December of 2021 by a score of 46-30. Will Steel Valley repeat their success, or does Shady Side Academy have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.