Basketball Game Preview: Briar Woods Falcons vs. Heritage Pride

The Briar Woods Falcons are taking a road trip to challenge the Heritage Pride at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday. Briar Woods knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past five games -- so hopefully Heritage likes a good challenge.

Last Friday, Briar Woods was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 63-58 to Tuscarora. The contest marked the Falcons' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Briar Woods' defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Devon Pettibone, who went 7 of 16 en route to 21 points, and Patrick Fraim, who went 6 for 9 on his way to 19 points and seven rebounds. With that strong performance, Fraim is now averaging an impressive 15.6 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Eckhaus, who posted three points and three steals.

While Heritage didn't have the best season last year (they finished 5-19), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They came out on top against Woodgrove by a score of 62-52 on Wednesday. The Pride's offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.

The victory (which was Heritage's third in a row) raised their record to 4-1. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.3 points per game. As for Briar Woods, they now have a losing record at 2-3.

Briar Woods strolled past Heritage when the teams last played back in December of 2023 by a score of 57-42. The rematch might be a little tougher for Briar Woods since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.