Basketball Game Preview: Valencia Vikings vs. Pasadena Bulldogs

The Valencia Vikings just played yesterday, but they'll still head out to face the Pasadena Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Valencia will head into Thursday's match on the come-up: they were handed a 21-point defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Gahr 57-55.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Pasadena, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They managed a 67-63 win over Saint Mary's on Thursday. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Bulldogs' disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 263rd, while the Panthers are ranked 44th).

Pasadena's win was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-4. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.0 points per game. As for Valencia, their victory bumped their record up to 6-8.

Valencia was able to grind out a solid win over Pasadena in their previous meeting back in December of 2018, winning 73-62. Will Valencia repeat their success, or does Pasadena have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.