Preview: Maple Valley Lions vs. Bronson Vikings
Maple Valley is 0-3 against Bronson since February of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Maple Valley Lions will be playing in front of their home fans against the Bronson Vikings at 7:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Last Monday, Maple Valley was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 50-49 to Reading.
Maple Valley might have lost, but man, Ayden Wilkes was a machine: he dropped a double-double on 24 points and ten rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Connor Joseph, who scored eight points.
Meanwhile, Bronson was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Monday as they fell 46-41 to Sturgis. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Bronson came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Michigan basketball rankings (they are ranked 256th, while Sturgis is ranked 587th).
Bronson might have lost, but man, Kamron Brackett was a machine: he scored 23 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Brackett is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 17 or more in the last five games he's played. Another player making a difference was Sayler Wotta, who scored four points along with eight rebounds.
Maple Valley's loss dropped their record down to 9-12. As for Bronson, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 13-8.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Maple Valley have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Bronson struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.5 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Maple Valley took a serious blow against Bronson in their previous meeting back in January, falling 67-30. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Brackett, who went 10 for 14 from beyond the arc en route to 41 points and 2 assists. Now that Maple Valley knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
