Basketball Game Preview: West Lafayette Red Devils vs. Rensselaer Central Bombers

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Previous Games

02/02/24 - Neutral	44-37 W
01/11/24 - Home	60-68 L
11/18/23 - Neutral	53-58 L
01/12/23 - Away	45-31 W
01/13/22 - Home	64-60 W
+ 5 more games

West Lafayette is 8-2 against Rensselaer Central since January of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The West Lafayette Red Devils are taking a road trip to square off against the Rensselaer Central Bombers at 8:00 p.m.

West Lafayette is headed into the matchup having just suffered their biggest defeat since November 19, 2024 on Tuesday. They were dealt a 67-27 loss at the hands of Lafayette Central Catholic. The defeat continues a trend for the Red Devils in their matchups with the Knights: they've now lost three in a row.

Meanwhile, Rensselaer Central entered their tilt with Munster on Saturday with nine consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with ten. They took their contest with ease, bagging a 69-27 win over the Mustangs. The Bombers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 26 points or more this season.

West Lafayette better focus on containing Courtney Mathew and Kamri Rowland as the pair were huge in Rensselaer Central's win. Mathew almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine steals, while Rowland posted 15 points in addition to eight assists and eight boards. Those eight assists gave Rowland a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Taylor Van Meter, who put up nine points along with seven boards and six steals.

Rensselaer Central smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive matches.

Rensselaer Central's victory was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 16-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 36.1 points. As for West Lafayette, their loss dropped their record down to 5-12.

West Lafayette was able to grind out a solid win over Rensselaer Central when the teams last played back in February of 2024, winning 44-37. Does West Lafayette have another victory up their sleeve, or will Rensselaer Central turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.