Basketball Game Preview: Valparaiso Vikings vs. Carroll Chargers

The Valparaiso Vikings will be taking part in a tournament against the Carroll Chargers at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. Valparaiso will be strutting in after a win while Carroll will be coming in after a loss.

Last Saturday, Valparaiso was able to grind out a solid victory over Hammond Bishop Noll, taking the game 53-43.

Valparaiso relied on the efforts of Kj Avery, who posted 13 points, and Trenten Kimes, who went 7 for 12 on his way to 18 points. That's the most points Kimes has posted since back in December of 2023. Maddux Wagner was another key player, putting up five points.

Meanwhile, Carroll came up short against Warsaw on Saturday and fell 51-43. While losing is never fun, the Chargers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 137th, while the Tigers are ranked tenth).

Valparaiso will have to contain Paxton Crane as he made an impact in Carroll's last game. He almost dropped a double-double on 23 points and nine rebounds. Crane is crushing it when it comes to boards: he's pulled down at least nine every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Brody Fisher, who went 5 of 6 on his way to 10 points.

This is the second loss in a row for Carroll and nudges their season record down to 3-4. As for Valparaiso, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-4.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Valparaiso has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 23.1 boards per game. However, it's not like Carroll struggles in that department as they've been averaging 23.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.