Basketball Game Preview: Wayne Pioneers vs. Lawrence County Bulldogs

The Wayne Pioneers will venture away from home to face off against the Lawrence County Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Wayne knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 12 contests -- so hopefully Lawrence County likes a good challenge.

Wayne is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Poca: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Wayne blew Poca out of the water with an 81-39 final score. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 40-12.

Ronnie Staley

Steals

02/06/25 vs Poca	2
02/04/25 vs Point Pleasant	6
02/01/25 vs Ironton	3
01/27/25 vs Tolsia	3
01/24/25 vs Sissonville	2
01/15/25 @ Poca	2

Wayne's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Isaac Meddings, who almost dropped a triple-double on 13 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists, and Ronnie Staley, who went 9 for 16 on his way to 19 points and eight boards. Staley has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. Another player making a difference was Cooper Adkins, who went 5 of 6 to rack up 12 points and five rebounds.

Wayne smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in six consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Lawrence County, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They enjoyed a cozy 76-59 win over Betsy Layne on Saturday.

Wayne is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 76.9 points over those games. As for Lawrence County, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-7.

Wayne might still be hurting after the 81-59 defeat they got from Lawrence County in their previous meeting back in March of 2021. Can Wayne avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.