Basketball Game Preview: Orangeville Broncos vs. Durand Bulldogs

Orangeville and Durand are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2020, but not for long. Having just played yesterday, the Orangeville Broncos will get right back to it and host the Durand Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both have had a bumpy ride up to this point with five consecutive losses for Orangeville and ten for Durand.

Orangeville is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against South Beloit on Monday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Orangeville had to suffer through a 65-21 loss at the hands of South Beloit. The Broncos were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 33-8.

Meanwhile, Durand lost to Lena-Winslow at home by a 71-57 margin on Wednesday. Even if the Bulldogs couldn't come away with the win, the high-scoring effort was a great turnaround for their offense, which had struggled int the games prior.

Orangeville will have to contain Hayden Sughroue as he made an impact in Durand's last game. He went 9 for 15 on his way to 24 points and five assists. The dominant performance gave Sughroue a new career-high in assists. Another player making a difference was Evan Rager, who posted six points.

Durand's defeat dropped their record down to 6-20. As for Orangeville, their loss dropped their record down to 2-22.

Orangeville lost to Durand at home by a decisive 56-41 margin in their previous meeting back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Durand's Ethan Rager, who dropped a double-double on 30 points and 25 boards. Now that Orangeville knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.