Basketball Game Preview: Marbury Bulldogs vs. Selma Saints

Two dominant guards in Jamar Brown and Tristin Blocton are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Marbury Bulldogs will be playing at home against the Selma Saints at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Marbury will be strutting in after a win while Selma will be coming in after a defeat.

Marbury took a loss when they played away from home last Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They walked away with a 53-44 victory over Holtville.

Jacob Driver and Brown were among the main playmakers for Marbury as the former posted 18 points and the latter put up 15 points. Driver's evening made it five games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points.

Meanwhile, it's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Selma can now relate to. They fell 57-50 to the Bulldogs on Wednesday. It was the first time this season that the Saints let down their fans at home.

Marbury will need focus on slowing down Blocton, one of several Selma players who made an impact when they last played. He had 17 points along with six assists and five rebounds. That was a full 34% of Selma's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was DeShawn Flannigan, who made all 5 shots he took for 10 points and seven boards.

Even though they lost, Selma smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in nine consecutive matches.

Marbury's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-14. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.0 points per game. As for Selma, their loss ended a 20-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 20-3.

Marbury and Selma were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in December of 2022, but Marbury came up empty-handed after a 50-49 defeat. Can Marbury avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.