Basketball Game Preview: Shamokin Area Indians vs. Central Columbia Bluejays

The Shamokin Area Indians will square off against the Central Columbia Bluejays at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

On Tuesday, Shamokin Area really took it to Mifflinburg for the full four quarters, racking up a 53-24 win. Given the Indians' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 182nd, while the Wildcats are ranked 548th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Central Columbia came tearing into Tuesday's match with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.7 points) and they left with even more momentum. They claimed a resounding 68-24 victory over the Warriors. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 49-12.

Central Columbia's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 28 points. As for Shamokin Area, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-3 record this season.

Shamokin Area and Central Columbia were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, but Shamokin Area came up empty-handed after a 38-37 defeat. Can Shamokin Area avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.