Basketball Game Preview: Martins Ferry Purple Riders vs. Union Local Jets

The Martins Ferry Purple Riders are taking a road trip to take on the Union Local Jets at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Martins Ferry took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They came out on top against Morgan by a score of 49-39.

Meanwhile, two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Union Local walked away with it. They walked away with a 67-55 victory over the Cardinals on Saturday. Given the Jets' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 211th, while the Cardinals are ranked 559th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Union Local is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.6 points over those games. Martins Ferry pushed their record up to 11-11 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home.

Martins Ferry came up short against Union Local in their previous meeting last Friday, falling 60-52. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Union Local's Dre Saunders, who went 10-for-18 on his way to 24 points along with eight rebounds and seven assists. Now that Martins Ferry knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.