Basketball Game Preview: Marian Catholic vs. Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils

Marian Catholic will venture away from home to challenge the Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

On Saturday, Marian Catholic was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 53-52 to Minersville. The defeat continues a trend for Marian Catholic in their meetings with Minersville: they've now lost four in a row.

James Cannon

Field Goal Percentage

01/31/26 vs Minersville	64%
01/30/26 vs Williams Valley	57%
01/28/26 @ Tri-Valley	57%
01/23/26 vs Our Lady of Lourdes Regional	63%
01/20/26 vs Schuylkill Haven	100%
+ 3 more games

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was James Cannon, who shot 64% from the field to rack up 14 points and five boards. He is on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 50% in the last eight games he's played. Another player making a difference was Gregory Tirpak, who posted 14 points along with five rebounds and four steals.

Meanwhile, Shenandoah Valley played a tough game on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They lost 62-39 to Nativity BVM.

Shenandoah Valley's loss dropped their record down to 2-16. As for Marian Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-11.

Marian Catholic beat Shenandoah Valley 46-37 when the teams last played back in January. The rematch might be a little tougher for Marian Catholic since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.