Preview: West Branch Warriors vs. Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs
West Branch is on a 13-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Claysburg-Kimmel is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The West Branch Warriors will take on the Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
West Branch stacked a 12th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Wednesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Southern Huntingdon County 93-64 at home. The victory was just what West Branch needed coming off of a 73-44 defeat in their prior matchup.
West Branch got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Isaac Tiracorda out in front who scored 29 points along with two steals. Tiracorda is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight. Owen Koleno was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Claysburg-Kimmel didn't have too much breathing room in their match against United on Wednesday, but they still walked away with a 57-51 victory.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Claysburg-Kimmel to victory, but perhaps none more so than Elias Ritchey, who scored 12 points along with seven assists and three steals. Ritchey is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last 11 games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Brayden Haney, who scored 22 points along with five assists and four steals.
West Branch's win bumped their record up to 22-3. As for Claysburg-Kimmel, they have been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: West Branch have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 36.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Claysburg-Kimmel struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.5 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went West Branch's way against Claysburg-Kimmel in their previous meeting back in December of 2022 as West Branch made off with a 84-63 win. In that matchup, West Branch amassed a halftime lead of 44-21, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Saturday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
