Basketball Game Preview: Needham Rockets vs. Central Catholic Raiders

The Needham Rockets will square off against the Central Catholic Raiders at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Needham took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They walked away with a 63-54 victory over Boston College High.

Meanwhile, Central Catholic had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20.2 points) and they went ahead and made it seven on Monday. They breezed past the Townies to the tune of 87-56. The Raiders have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matchups by 21 points or more this season.

Needham is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a massive bump to their 10-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.6 points over those games. As for Central Catholic, their win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-3.

Needham came up short against Central Catholic in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 56-46. Can Needham avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.