Basketball Game Preview: Point Pleasant Big Blacks vs. Ripley Vikings

Point Pleasant hasn't had much luck against Ripley recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Point Pleasant Big Blacks will take on the Ripley Vikings at 7:00 p.m.

On Monday, Point Pleasant was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 49-45 to Gallia Academy.

Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Ripley beat Ravenswood 55-51 on Friday. The 55-point effort marked the Vikings' lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Ripley's win came from a few key players Point Pleasant will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Matthew Stellato, who posted 14 points. Those 14 points gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Brandon Sias, who went 5 of 6 on his way to 14 points.

Ripley now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Point Pleasant, their loss dropped their record down to 3-3.

Point Pleasant beat Ripley 61-54 in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Point Pleasant since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.