Basketball Game Preview: Watkins Memorial Warriors vs. Heath Bulldogs

Watkins Memorial is 2-8 against Heath since January of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Watkins Memorial Warriors will venture away from home to square off against the Heath Bulldogs at 7:15 p.m.

On Friday, Watkins Memorial came up short against Mt. Vernon and fell 63-51. While losing is never fun, the Warriors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 501st, while the Yellowjackets are ranked 188th).

Meanwhile, Heath had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. Everything went their way against the Lancers as they made off with a 59-37 win. The Bulldogs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine games by 20 points or more this season.

Heath's win came from a few key players Watkins Memorial will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jaxon Duston, who went 5 for 8 en route to 14 points and three steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Mason Sforza, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 11 points and six boards.

Heath smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. They are a perfect 3-0 when they hit their own glass that hard.

Heath's victory bumped their record up to 16-2. As for Watkins Memorial, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-11.

Watkins Memorial lost to Heath on the road by a decisive 48-30 margin in their previous meeting back in January of 2024. Can Watkins Memorial avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.