Basketball Game Preview: Roger Bacon Spartans vs. Elder Panthers

Roger Bacon is 1-8 against Elder since January of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Roger Bacon Spartans will take on the Elder Panthers in a holiday battle at at 7:30 p.m. Roger Bacon is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.8 points per game this season.

Last Friday, Roger Bacon was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 56-50 to Clark Montessori. While losing is never fun, the Spartans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 133rd, while the Cougars are ranked 44th).

Christian Byrd

Steals

12/13/24 vs Clark Montessori	2
12/10/24 vs Cincinnati Christian	3
12/07/24 @ Seven Hills	4
12/06/24 @ North College Hill	7

The losing side was boosted by Christian Byrd, who went 6 of 15 on his way to 16 points. He has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. Josh Cook was another key player, putting up ten points and five rebounds.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Elder challenged Conner on Friday. Elder took their match with ease, bagging an 82-53 victory over Conner. The Panthers' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.

The win got Elder back to even at 2-2. As for Roger Bacon, they now have a losing record at 2-3.

Roger Bacon might still be hurting after the 68-42 defeat they got from Elder when the teams last played back in December of 2023. Can Roger Bacon avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.