Basketball Game Preview: Carroll Chargers vs. Bellmont Braves

The Carroll Chargers will be home for the holidays to greet the Bellmont Braves at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Carroll is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.9 points per game this season.

Having struggled with three defeats in a row, Carroll turned things around against Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran on Friday. They enjoyed a cozy 75-61 win over the Cadets. Given the Chargers' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 48th, while the Cadets are ranked 127th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Jersey Paul was her usual excellent self, going 10 of 20 on her way to 26 points in addition to five assists and four steals. That's the most assists she has posted since back in December of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Cala Haffner, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 11 boards.

They weren't the only one working in the assists department: Carroll was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Bellmont came tearing into Friday's match with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 24 points) and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Knights as they made off with a 53-29 victory. The Braves have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 22 points or more this season.

Bellmont's win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 27.9 points. As for Carroll, their victory was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 6-5.

Everything came up roses for Carroll against Bellmont in their previous matchup back in January of 2015, as the squad secured a 69-25 win. Does Carroll have another victory up their sleeve, or will Bellmont turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.