Preview: Wheeling Central Catholic Maroon Knights vs. Armstrong River Hawks
Wheeling Central Catholic is on a seven-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Armstrong is on a four-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Wheeling Central Catholic Maroon Knights will finish 2023 at home by hosting the Armstrong River Hawks at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Wheeling Central Catholic knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past five contests -- so hopefully Armstrong likes a good challenge.
Even though East Liverpool scored an imposing 65 points on Friday, Wheeling Central Catholic still came out on top. Wheeling Central Catholic took down East Liverpool 80-65. Given Wheeling Central Catholic's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked fourth in West Virginia, while East Liverpool is ranked 57th in Ohio), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Armstrong was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 44-38 to Neshannock. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Armstrong has scored all season.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Jack Valasek, who scored 12 points. The contest was his third in a row with at least ten points. Isaiah Riggle was another key contributor, scoring 14 points.
Wheeling Central Catholic's win bumped their record up to 5-0. As for Armstrong, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-2.
