Basketball Game Preview: Parchment Panthers vs. Portage Northern Huskies

The Parchment Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Portage Northern Huskies at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Parchment got their first taste of in-conference action this week and they started things off strong. They came out on top against Hackett Catholic Prep by a score of 45-32 on Friday. The win was all the more spectacular given the Panthers' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Michigan basketball rankings (they are ranked 417th, while the Fighting Irish are ranked 64th).

Meanwhile, Portage Northern hadn't done well against Mattawan recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. In a tight match that could have gone either way, Portage Northern made off with a 39-38 victory over Mattawan.

The win made it two in a row for Parchment and bumps their season record up to 8-11. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 24.0 points over those games. As for Portage Northern, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-19.

Parchment skirted past Portage Northern 35-32 in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Parchment since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.