Basketball Game Preview: Chardon Hilltoppers vs. Madison Blue Streaks

The Chardon Hilltoppers will venture away from home to take on the Madison Blue Streaks at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Chardon sitting on three straight victories and Madison on four.

While Chardon didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They snuck past West Geauga with a 53-48 win on Monday. The 53-point effort marked the Hilltoppers' lowest-scoring matchup of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Meanwhile, Madison didn't have too much trouble with Edgewood last Saturday as they won 68-52.

Chardon better keep an eye on Mac Steele. He was instrumental in Madison's win, going 10 for 14 on his way to 25 points in addition to eight rebounds and eight steals. That's the most boards Steele has posted since back in January. The team also got some help courtesy of Brendan Titman, who posted 12 points.

Madison was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Madison pushed their record up to 5-2 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.0 points per game. As for Chardon, their record is now 4-1.

Chardon suffered a grim 70-46 defeat to Madison in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. Can Chardon avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.