Basketball Game Preview: Leetonia Bears vs. Southern Indians

Leetonia is 2-8 against Southern since January of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The two teams will compete for holiday cheer at 6:30 p.m. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

Leetonia is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Columbiana on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Bears were dealt a 79-36 defeat at the hands of the Clippers. While losing is never fun, the Bears can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 153rd, while the Clippers are ranked 11th).

The losing side was boosted by Dylan Johns, who shot 63% from the field on his way to 12 points. Ethan Mathia also deserves some recognition as he posted his first block of the season.

Meanwhile, Southern came up short against Valley Christian on Friday, falling 56-35. The loss continues a trend for the Indians in their meetings with the Eagles: they've now lost five in a row.

Southern's defeat dropped their record down to 0-3. As for Leetonia, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.

Leetonia lost to Southern on the road by a decisive 68-49 margin when the teams last played back in January. Can the Bears avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.