Basketball Game Preview: Mentor Cardinals vs. Perry Pirates

The Mentor Cardinals will wrap up 2024 with a road trip to face off against the Perry Pirates at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Mentor is headed into the contest having just suffered their biggest loss since March 1st on Monday. They might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Jackson an easy 67-46 victory. The defeat continues a trend for the Cardinals in their matchups with the Polar Bears: they've now lost six in a row.

Meanwhile, Perry unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Monday. They received a blow as they fell 46-32 to Canfield. While losing is never fun, the Pirates can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 334th, while the Cardinals are ranked 47th).

Mentor's loss dropped their record down to 6-3. As for Perry, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-4.

Everything came up roses for Mentor against Perry when the teams last played back in January, as the team secured a 53-22 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mentor since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.