Basketball Game Preview: Rootstown Rovers vs. Academy for Urban Scholars Hawks

Rootstown is on a six-game streak of home losses, Academy for Urban Scholars a 22-game streak of away losses dating back to last season, but someone's luck will change on Friday. The Rootstown Rovers will host the Academy for Urban Scholars Hawks at 7:00 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.

Last Tuesday, Rootstown came up short against Field and fell 48-39.

Meanwhile, Academy for Urban Scholars was beaten by Mathews 68-14 on Wednesday. While losing is never fun, the Hawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 859th, while the Mustangs are ranked 418th).

Academy for Urban Scholars' loss dropped their record down to 0-14. As for Rootstown, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-15.

Everything went Rootstown's way against Academy for Urban Scholars in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, as Rootstown made off with a 61-37 win. Will Rootstown repeat their success, or does Academy for Urban Scholars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.