Basketball Game Preview: New Riegel Blue Jackets vs. St. Mary Central Catholic Panthers

The New Riegel Blue Jackets will square off against the St. Mary Central Catholic Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in New Riegel's favor as the team sits on seven straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while St. Mary Central Catholic has been banged up by six consecutive losses on the road also dating back to last season.

Last Saturday, New Riegel earned a 65-52 win over Arcadia.

Meanwhile, St. Mary Central Catholic took a blow against Old Fort on Saturday, falling 78-40. 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 641st, while the Stockaders are ranked 130th).

St. Mary Central Catholic's defeat dropped their record down to 3-9. As for New Riegel, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season.

Everything went New Riegel's way against St. Mary Central Catholic in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, as New Riegel made off with a 64-43 victory. Does New Riegel have another victory up their sleeve, or will St. Mary Central Catholic turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.