Basketball Game Preview: West Branch Warriors vs. Penns Manor Comets

The West Branch Warriors will square off against the Penns Manor Comets at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

West Branch is headed into Tuesday's game hungry for a win as their strong season has now been derailed by two straight defeats. They were beaten by North Star 72-44 on Friday.

Meanwhile, Penns Manor fought the good fight in their overtime contest against North Star last Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 48-47 to the Cougars.

West Branch will need to focus on slowing down Dylan Kuzemchak, one of several Penns Manor players who made an impact when they last played. He went 5-for-8 on his way to 12 points and five rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Kuzemchak a new career-high in blocks (two). Tyler Cooper was another key player, putting up ten points and five boards.

Penns Manor has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups, which has put a noticeable dent in their 10-12 record this season. As for West Branch, their loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 10-1 and their overall record down to 19-4.

Everything came up roses for West Branch against Penns Manor in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, as the squad secured a 70-41 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Penns Manor's Carter Smith, who posted 20 points. Now that he won't be playing on Tuesday, will it be easier for West Branch to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.