Basketball Game Preview: Harrison Wildcats vs. Monroe Hornets

The Harrison Wildcats will face off against the Monroe Hornets at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Having struggled with five defeats in a row, Harrison turned things around against Goshen on Saturday. They came out on top against the Warriors by a score of 43-33. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Wildcats' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 658th, while the Warriors are ranked 216th).

Harrison can attribute much of their success to Tucker Ward, who posted 14 points along with seven boards and four steals, and Brody Mumfrey, who went 5 of 9 en route to 10 points and five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Justin Marx, who put up four points and six rebounds.

While Monroe didn't have the best season last year (they finished 10-13), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They rang in the new year with a 50-42 win over Edgewood on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Hornets.

Monroe pushed their record up to 7-3 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.3 points per game. As for Harrison, their win bumped their record up to 2-6.

Harrison came out on top in a nail-biter against Monroe when the teams last played back in December of 2023, sneaking past 55-53. Will Harrison repeat their success, or does Monroe have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.