Basketball Game Preview: Padua Franciscan Bruins vs. Bedford Bearcats

Padua Franciscan hasn't had much luck against Bedford recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Padua Franciscan Bruins will square off against the Bedford Bearcats at 7:00 p.m. Padua Franciscan is coming into the contest hot, having won their last six games.

Padua Franciscan is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They escaped with a win against Gilmour Academy by the margin of a single free throw, 75-74.

Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Bedford ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Barberton, sneaking past 60-58. Given the Bearcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 91st in Ohio, while the Magics are ranked 254th in Ohio), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Bedford has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.0 points over those games. Padua Franciscan's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-6.

Padua Franciscan came up short against Bedford in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 41-30. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Bedford's Terrell Pollard, who dropped a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards. Now that Padua Franciscan knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.