Basketball Preview: Penn Cambria Panthers vs. Westmont Hilltop Hilltoppers
Penn Cambria and the Hilltoppers are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2016, but not for long. The Penn Cambria Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Westmont Hilltop Hilltoppers at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Hopefully Penn Cambria focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up nine on Saturday.
Last Saturday, Penn Cambria was the victim of a rough 59-37 loss at the hands of the Marauders. While losing is never fun, Penn Cambria can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 289th, while the Marauders are ranked 78th).
Despite the defeat, Penn Cambria had strong showings from Easton Semelsberger, who scored 13 points along with four steals, and Brandon Rabish, who scored 11 points. Another player making a difference was Thomas Plunkett, who scored five points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Westmont Hilltop waltzed into their matchup on Friday with three straight wins but they left with four. They snuck past Central with a 57-53 win.
Penn Cambria's loss dropped their record down to 10-10. As for Westmont Hilltop, their win was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 15-4.
Penn Cambria took a serious blow against the Hilltoppers in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, falling 66-37. The match was all but decided by halftime, at which point Penn Cambria was down 42-18.
