Basketball Game Preview: East Central Trojans vs. Columbus East Olympians

East Central and Columbus East are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2016, but not for long. The East Central Trojans are taking a road trip to challenge the Columbus East Olympians at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Columbus East took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on East Central, who comes in off a win.

Last Saturday, East Central had just enough and edged Harrison out 49-46. Given the Trojans' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 308th in Indiana, while the Wildcats are ranked 636th in Ohio), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

East Central's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Liam Rogers, who went 5 for 8 on his way to 18 points and four steals. Cole Reynolds was another key player, going 5 of 7 en route to 11 points.

Meanwhile, Columbus East suffered their closest defeat since January 26, 2024 on Saturday. They fell just short of Jeffersonville by a score of 55-53. The Olympians were up 21-4 in the first quarter but couldn't hold on to the lead.

Columbus East's loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 10-5. As for East Central, their win ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-9.

East Central didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Columbus East in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, but they still walked away with a 41-37 victory. Does East Central have another victory up their sleeve, or will Columbus East turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.