Basketball Game Preview: Merrillville Pirates vs. Hobart Brickies

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Previous Games

02/22/25 - Home	70-62 W
02/17/24 - Away	69-28 W
02/18/23 - Home	75-41 W
02/19/22 - Away	63-47 W
02/20/21 - Home	86-39 W
+ 5 more games

Merrillville has gone 9-1 against Hobart recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Merrillville Pirates will square off against the Hobart Brickies at 8:00 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Merrillville is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Valparaiso 45-42. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Pirates have posted since December 10, 2024.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hobart). They claimed a resounding 94-37 victory over Whiting. The win continues a trend for the Brickies in their matchups with the Oilers: they've now won six in a row.

Merrillville better focus on containing Ryan Basham and Aidan Leonard as the pair were huge in Hobart's win. Basham shot 56% from the field to rack up 33 points, while Leonard dropped a double-double with 13 points and 21 rebounds. Basham continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Paxson Hicko, who went 5-for-7 en route to 12 points and four steals.

Hobart was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in November of 2023.

Merrillville's record is now 6-18. As for Hobart, their record now sits at 9-14.

Merrillville was able to grind out a solid victory over Hobart in their previous matchup last Saturday, winning 70-62. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Basham, who shot 41% from the field on his way to 26 points and five boards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Merrillville still be able to contain Basham? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.