Basketball Game Preview: St. Rose Purple Roses vs. Roselle Catholic Lions

The St. Rose Purple Roses will face off against the Roselle Catholic Lions on Friday. St. Rose is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last nine games.

St. Rose is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Monday. They breezed past Rutgers Prep to the tune of 86-55. The Purple Roses have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 15 games by 22 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Roselle Catholic faced Gill St. Bernard's in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Monday. Roselle Catholic came out on top against Gill St. Bernard's by a score of 43-35. The 43-point effort marked the Lions' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Roselle Catholic has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.7 points over those games. St. Rose's record now sits at 24-7.

St. Rose came up short against Roselle Catholic when the teams last played back in March of 2023, falling 68-59. Can St. Rose avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.