Basketball Game Preview: Marlington Dukes vs. Minerva Lions

The Marlington Dukes will head out to square off against the Minerva Lions at 6:45 p.m. on Friday. Marlington is coming into the game hot, having won their last three games.

Marlington is headed into the matchup having just posted their closest victory since February 27th on Saturday. They skirted past Harrison Central 49-46. Given the Dukes' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 240th, while the Huskies are ranked 610th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Minerva). Couldn't have asked for a better way to wrap up 2024 than the 80-53 stomp they got against Claymont. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Lions have posted against the Mustangs since January 28, 2018.

Marlington's victory bumped their record up to 6-3. As for Minerva, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-4.

Marlington came up short against Minerva when the teams last played back in January, falling 60-47. Can Marlington avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.