Basketball Game Preview: Cumberland Valley Eagles vs. William Penn Bearcats

Eagles

Points

02/25/25 @ Mechanicsburg	37
02/21/25 vs Central Dauphin	74
02/18/25 vs Ephrata	61
02/13/25 vs Trinity	89
02/11/25 vs Mechanicsburg	54
+ 22 more games

Two dominant guards in Nolan Buzalka and Nasir Barnes are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Cumberland Valley Eagles will look to defend their home court on Thursday against the William Penn Bearcats at 7:00 p.m. Cumberland Valley is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 64 points per game this season.

Cumberland Valley is headed into Thursday's matchup hungry for a win as their strong season has now been derailed by two straight defeats. They fell 48-37 to Mechanicsburg on Tuesday. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Eagles came into the game with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked eighth in Pennsylvania, while the Wildcats are ranked 68th in Pennsylvania).

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Buzalka, who dropped a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Creston Austin, who dropped a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.

Meanwhile, William Penn lost to Wilson on the road by a 67-51 margin on Tuesday.

Despite the loss, William Penn saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Barnes posted 20 points. The contest was Barnes' seventh in a row with at least 19 points. Tai Maxfield was another key player, putting up seven points.

Cumberland Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 22-5. As for William Penn, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 19-9 record this season.