Basketball Game Preview: Ladysmith Lumberjacks vs. Mellen Granite Diggers

The Ladysmith Lumberjacks will venture away from home to square off against the Mellen Granite Diggers at 5:45 p.m. on Friday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Ladysmith came up into this matchup off a tough 25-point defeat two weeks ago. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Northwestern by a score of 41-39 last Friday. The Lumberjacks have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Mellen's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell 56-47 to Birchwood.

Mellen's loss ended an eight-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 4-2. As for Ladysmith, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 4-4.

Everything came up roses for Ladysmith against Mellen in their previous matchup back in November of 2023, as the team secured a 66-31 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ladysmith since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.