Basketball Game Preview: East Palestine Bulldogs vs. Southern Indians

East Palestine is 2-8 against Southern since December of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The East Palestine Bulldogs will host the Southern Indians at 5:30 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.

East Palestine is headed into Saturday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Friday. The contest between them and Valley Christian didn't end well, with East Palestine falling 60-42. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 653rd, while the Eagles are ranked 290th).

Meanwhile, Southern was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They came up short against Wellsville, falling 73-48.

Southern's loss dropped their record down to 6-10. As for East Palestine, they now have a losing record at 7-8.

Everything came up roses for East Palestine against Southern in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, as the team secured a 75-43 victory. Will East Palestine repeat their success, or does Southern have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.