Preview: Hill-McCloy Rams vs. Ovid-Elsie Marauders
Hill-McCloy has enjoyed a eight-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. The Hill-McCloy Rams and the Ovid-Elsie Marauders will face off at 5:30 p.m. on January 23rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hill-McCloy will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Michigan Rankings (they are ranked 279th, while Ovid-Elsie is ranked 65th).
Last Friday, Hill-McCloy was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 48-42 to New Lothrop.
Ovid-Elsie proved they can win big on Friday (they won by 40) but on Saturday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 49-47 victory over Petoskey. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win Ovid-Elsie has posted yet this season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Ovid-Elsie to victory, but perhaps none more so than Braeden Tokar, who scored 12 points along with five rebounds and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Evalyn Cole, who scored 13 points along with six assists and three steals.
Hill-McCloy's defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-4. As for Ovid-Elsie, their win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-1.
Hill-McCloy was taken down by Ovid-Elsie 70-19 in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. Can Hill-McCloy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
