Basketball Game Preview: Licking Valley Panthers vs. Lakewood Lancers

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Previous Games

12/15/23 - Home	42-31 W
12/13/22 - Away	27-45 L
02/18/22 - Neutral	54-48 W
11/30/21 - Neutral	55-48 W
11/30/20 - Away	66-27 W
+ 5 more games

Licking Valley is 8-2 against Lakewood since February of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Wednesday. The Licking Valley Panthers will square off against the Lakewood Lancers at 7:15 p.m. Both have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses for Licking Valley and five for Lakewood.

Licking Valley is headed into the game having just suffered their biggest loss since December 23, 2024 on Saturday. They came up short against Mt. Vernon, falling 53-31. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 592nd, while the Yellowjackets are ranked 225th).

Meanwhile, Lakewood came up short against Newark Catholic on Saturday and fell 43-35.

Lakewood's defeat dropped their record down to 3-15. As for Licking Valley, their loss dropped their record down to an identical 3-15.

Licking Valley beat Lakewood 42-31 when the teams last played back in December of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Licking Valley since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.