Basketball Game Preview: Lakeview Warriors vs. Shepaug Valley Spartans

The Lakeview Warriors will challenge the Shepaug Valley Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Lakeview sitting on seven straight wins and Shepaug Valley on 21.

Lakeview is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Northwestern Regional: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Lakeview blew Northwestern Regional out of the water with a 71-43 final score. The Warriors have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 22 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Shepaug Valley). They blew past Gilbert 114-35 on Tuesday. The Spartans are also no stranger to big wins: their blowout was the 14th matchup they've won by 20+ points this season.

Lakeview better focus on containing Reed Woerner and James Kersten as the pair were huge in Shepaug Valley's win. Woerner posted 24 points along with six boards and five assists, while Kersten scored 23 points and four steals. The game was Woerner's 20th in a row with at least 18 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Drew Konik, who almost dropped a double-double with ten points and nine assists.

Shepaug Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 12 consecutive contests.

Shepaug Valley's victory was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 21-0. As for Lakeview, their win bumped their record up to 14-6.

Lakeview couldn't quite finish off Shepaug Valley in their previous matchup back in January and fell 75-72. Can Lakeview avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.