Preview: Southern Fulton Indians vs. Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs
After seven games on the road, Southern Fulton is heading back home. They will take on the Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Friday, Southern Fulton strolled past Forbes Road with points to spare, taking the game 47-30.
Southern Fulton's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ethan Mellott, who scored 13 points along with five steals. Another player making a difference was Sam Stotler, who scored 11 points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, even though Northern Bedford County scored an imposing 59 points on Wednesday, Claysburg-Kimmel still came out on top. Claysburg-Kimmel walked away with a 70-59 win over Northern Bedford County. The win was just what Claysburg-Kimmel needed coming off of a 62-37 loss in their prior game.
Claysburg-Kimmel's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Elias Ritchey led the charge by scoring nine points along with 11 assists and eight rebounds. Brayden Haney was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with six rebounds and four steals.
Southern Fulton's win bumped their record up to 7-4. As for Claysburg-Kimmel, their win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 7-5.
Tuesday's game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Southern Fulton have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 43.9% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Claysburg-Kimmel struggles in that department as they've nailed 38.2% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Southern Fulton couldn't quite finish off Claysburg-Kimmel in their previous matchup back in December of 2023 and fell 38-36. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Ritchey, who scored 22 points along with two steals. Now that Southern Fulton knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
