Basketball Game Preview: St. Xavier Bombers vs. Lakota West Firebirds

Having just played yesterday, the St. Xavier Bombers will head out on the road to face off against the Lakota West Firebirds at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

On Friday, St. Xavier was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 55-49 to Elder. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Bombers came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Panthers are ranked 60th).

Meanwhile, Lakota West waltzed into their game on Friday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They strolled past the Comets with points to spare, taking the game 55-41.

Lakota West's win bumped their record up to 16-5. As for St. Xavier, their loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 5-1 and their overall record down to 17-4.

St. Xavier was able to grind out a solid victory over Lakota West in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, winning 52-45. The rematch might be a little tougher for St. Xavier since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.