Basketball Game Preview: Jefferson Area Falcons vs. Lakeview Bulldogs

Jefferson Area and Lakeview are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2019, but not for long. The Jefferson Area Falcons are taking a road trip to take on the Lakeview Bulldogs at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Last Saturday, Jefferson Area ended up a good deal behind Edgewood and lost 59-42. The defeat continues a trend for the Falcons in their matchups with the Warriors: they've now lost six in a row.

Jefferson Area's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Bella Boyd, who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine boards, and Riley Franklin, who posted six points along with five steals and four blocks. Those five steals gave Franklin a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Leah Valenti, who put up five points and five rebounds.

Even though they lost, Jefferson Area smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in 14 consecutive games dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Lakeview). They walked away with a 65-53 win over Grand Valley on Monday. Winning may never get old, but the Bulldogs sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.

Lakeview has also been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.2 points per game. As for Jefferson Area, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-8.

Jefferson Area didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Lakeview in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, but they still walked away with a 29-24 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Jefferson Area since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.