Basketball Recap: Utica Comes Up Short

Utica was the 58-51 winner over Heath when they last played one another back in January of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Utica Redskins took a 44-32 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Heath Bulldogs on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Redskins can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 716th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 99th).

Heath got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Josh Jones out in front who posted seven points and five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaxon Duston, who scored five points in addition to five rebounds and three steals.

Utica's defeat dropped their record down to 2-9. As for Heath, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 12-1.

Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Utica has already played their next match (against Zanesville), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing. Heath and Bexley will face off at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played. Both teams are headed into the matchup with plenty of momentum (Heath has won 12 straight at home dating back to last season, while Bexley won three straight on the road), something that'll have to change.