Basketball Game Preview: River Rouge Panthers vs. Melvindale Cardinals

A feisty cat fight will be fought as the Panthers face off against the Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Last Friday, River Rouge was fully in charge, breezing past Flat Rock 79-40. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Rams recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Meanwhile, Melvindale didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Roosevelt on Friday, but they still walked away with a 58-54 victory. Given the Cardinals' advantage in MaxPreps' Michigan basketball rankings (they are ranked 242nd, while the Bears are ranked 648th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Melvindale is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.0 points over those games. River Rouge's win bumped their record up to 15-7.

Everything came up roses for River Rouge against Melvindale in their previous meeting back in March of 2020, as the team secured a 74-32 victory. Will River Rouge repeat their success, or does Melvindale have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.