Basketball Preview: Pendleton Bulldogs vs. Seneca Bobcats
Pendleton hasn't had much luck against Seneca recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Pendleton Bulldogs will be defending their home-court for the first time this season they go up against the Seneca Bobcats at 7:30 p.m. Pendleton is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.2 points per game this season.
Pendleton is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Westside on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Pendleton had to suffer through a 71-40 loss at the hands of Westside. The Bulldogs were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 38-13.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Sam Ross, who earned 11 points along with five rebounds. Another player making a difference was Brice Bolt, who scored nine points.
Even though they lost, Pendleton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Seneca). They put the hurt on Walhalla with a sharp 73-50 victory on Tuesday.
Seneca's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Stu Finley, who went 7 for 13 en route to 17 points plus six assists. Those six assists gave Finley a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jermaine Miller, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds.
Seneca pushed their record up to 2-2 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.4 points per game. As for Pendleton, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pendleton has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 28.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Seneca struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.2. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Pendleton skirted past Seneca 52-49 in their previous meeting back in January. Will Pendleton repeat their success, or does Seneca have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
