Basketball Game Preview: Alpena Wildcats vs. Traverse City Central Trojans

Alpena hasn't had much luck against Traverse City Central recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Alpena Wildcats will be playing in front of their home fans against the Traverse City Central Trojans at 6:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Having struggled with seven defeats in a row, Alpena turned things around against Sault Area on Tuesday. They strolled past the Blue Devils with points to spare, taking the game 55-38.

While Traverse City Central didn't have the best season last year (they finished 6-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They breezed by Gaylord to the tune of 78-41 on Tuesday. The Trojans have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four contests by 28 points or more this season.

Traverse City Central has also been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.5 points per game. As for Alpena, their win ended a five-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 3-8.

Alpena suffered a grim 71-49 defeat to Traverse City Central in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. Can Alpena avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.