Basketball Game Preview: Bend Lava Bears vs. Redmond Panthers

Bend is 2-8 against Redmond since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Bend Lava Bears are taking a road trip to challenge the Redmond Panthers at 7:00 p.m.

Last Monday, Bend came up short against Summit and fell 62-53. The Lava Bears have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Redmond was able to grind out a solid win over Ridgeview on Monday, taking the game 56-49. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Oregon basketball rankings (they are ranked 35th, while the Ravens are ranked 102nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Bend's loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 8-7. As for Redmond, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season.

Bend came up short against Redmond when the teams last played back in February of 2024, falling 73-64. Can Bend avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.