Basketball Game Preview: Central Catholic Vikings vs. Hempfield Area Spartans

The Central Catholic Vikings are taking a road trip to square off against the Hempfield Area Spartans at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Central Catholic is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They walked away with a 55-46 victory over Mt. Lebanon on Tuesday. The win was a breath of fresh air for the Vikings as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, Hempfield Area posted their biggest victory since December 16, 2023 on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Connellsville as Hempfield Area made off with a 70-50 win. Given the Spartans' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 107th, while the Falcons are ranked 406th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Hempfield Area pushed their record up to 4-2 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.5 points per game. As for Central Catholic, their win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 2-3.

Central Catholic was able to grind out a solid victory over Hempfield Area in their previous meeting back in February of 2022, winning 64-52. Does Central Catholic have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hempfield Area turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.