Basketball Game Preview: Marion Giants vs. Heritage Patriots

The Marion Giants will face off against the Heritage Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Marion knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past ten games -- so hopefully Heritage likes a good challenge.

Marion is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They took down Bellmont 75-56. Given the Giants' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 89th, while the Braves are ranked 329th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Heritage came up short against DeKalb last Tuesday and fell 57-46. The loss continues a trend for the Patriots in their meetings with the Barons: they've now lost six in a row.

Marion will have to contain Taurean Brown as he made an impact in Heritage's last game. He posted 18 points along with six boards and three steals. Brown's big performance that evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Kingston Galentine, who had nine points.

Marion is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-11 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 74.0 points over those games. Heritage's defeat dropped their record down to 12-10.

Marion took their victory against Heritage when the teams last played back in March of 2019 by a conclusive 66-40. Will Marion repeat their success, or does Heritage have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.