Basketball Game Preview: Westerville Central Warhawks vs. Watkins Memorial Warriors

The Westerville Central Warhawks will square off against the Watkins Memorial Warriors at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.

Last Monday, Westerville Central lost to Westerville South at home by a 56-40 margin. The Warhawks were down 46-23 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.

Meanwhile, Watkins Memorial was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Saturday as they fell 40-35 to Licking Heights. The Warriors have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Despite the loss, Watkins Memorial saw an underclassman step up: freshman Casey Wheeler went 6 for 13 to rack up 14 points and three steals. The dominant performance also gave Wheeler a new career-high in field goal percentage (46%). Taylor Susil was another key player, putting up four points and six boards.

Even though they lost, Watkins Memorial smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive board total in three consecutive contests.

Westerville Central's defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 13-9. As for Watkins Memorial, their loss dropped their record down to 7-15.

Westerville Central couldn't quite finish off Watkins Memorial in their previous matchup back in December of 2018 and fell 60-58. Will Westerville Central have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.