Basketball Game Preview: Western Indians vs. Symmes Valley Vikings

The Western Indians will head out on the road to square off against the Symmes Valley Vikings at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

On Friday, Western made easy work of South Gallia and carried off a 68-46 victory. Given the Indians' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 336th, while the Rebels are ranked 711th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Symmes Valley didn't have quite enough to beat Eastern on Friday and fell 59-57. While the Vikings didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Eagles 18-14 in the first quarter.

Western will have to contain Willie Jones as he made an impact in Symmes Valley's last game. He dropped a double-double on 19 points and 17 boards. Jones is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 45% in the last nine games he's played. Bronx Carpenter was another key player, putting up 12 points and five rebounds.

Even though they lost, Symmes Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.

Symmes Valley's loss dropped their record down to 13-6. As for Western, their win bumped their record up to 11-7.

Western came up short against Symmes Valley in their previous matchup back in January, falling 72-66. Can Western avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.