Preview: York Cougars vs. Northwestern Trojans
York is on a four-game streak of home losses, Northwestern a five-game streak of away losses, but someone's luck is about to change. The York Cougars will take on the Northwestern Trojans at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
York suffered their biggest defeat since December 7, 2023 on Friday. They were dealt a 87-43 loss at the hands of Catawba Ridge. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for York in their matchups with Catawba Ridge: they've now lost six in a row.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Bryson Steele, who scored nine points along with seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Logan Burris, who scored ten points.
Meanwhile, Northwestern was just a bucket shy of victory on Thursday and fell 49-48 to Indian Land.
The match pitted two dominant players against one another in Mason Mitchell and Michael Jones. Jones had a solid game and scored 11 points. Meanwhile, Mitchell did his best for the losing side, scoring 17 points along with nine rebounds and two blocks.
York has been struggling recently, as they've lost eight of their last nine matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-8 record this season. As for Northwestern, their loss dropped their record down to 9-9.
Tuesday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy game: York have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 17.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Northwestern struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 27.9 rebounds per game. Given York's sizeable advantage in that area, Northwestern will need to find a way to close that gap.
York was dealt a bruising 55-26 loss at the hands of Northwestern in their previous meeting back in February of 2023. Can York avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
