Basketball Game Preview: West Branch Warriors vs. Glendale Vikings

West Branch is 10-0 against Glendale since January of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The West Branch Warriors will venture away from home to square off against the Glendale Vikings at 6:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (West Branch has nine straight victories, Glendale has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

West Branch is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Curwensville: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that West Branch blew Curwensville out of the water with an 84-54 final score. The Warriors have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 23 points or more this season.

Dylan McGonigal was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 35 points and 11 steals. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 15.8 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Owen Koleno, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds.

West Branch smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've posted since the start of last season.

Meanwhile, Glendale suffered their biggest loss since December 29, 2023 on Tuesday. They were beaten by Williamsburg 69-36. The contest marked the Vikings' lowest-scoring match so far this season.

West Branch's win was their 18th 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 23.6 points. As for Glendale, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-7.

West Branch strolled past Glendale in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 by a score of 63-46. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Glendale's Landen McGarvey, who went 9 of 20 on his way to 23 points and seven rebounds. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will West Branch still be able to contain McGarvey? There's only one way to find out.