Basketball Game Preview: Carlisle Thundering Herd vs. Central Dauphin Rams

Carlisle is 2-8 against Central Dauphin since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Carlisle Thundering Herd will host the Central Dauphin Rams at 7:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Carlisle will bounce into Friday's match after beating Cumberland Valley, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. Carlisle blew past Cumberland Valley 60-33 on Tuesday. The win was all the more spectacular given the Thundering Herd's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 99th, while the Eagles are ranked fifth).

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Central Dauphin, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They were the clear victor by a 69-49 margin over Central Dauphin East on Tuesday. The Rams pushed the score to 59-34 by the end of the third, a deficit the Panthers cut but never quite recovered from.

Central Dauphin's win came from a few key players Carlisle will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Wayne Fletcher II, who went 8 for 14 on his way to 24 points and seven boards. That makes it five consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Central Dauphin's points. Shakur Starling was another key player, going 5 of 11 en route to 13 points in addition to six rebounds and five assists.

Carlisle is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.3 points per game. As for Central Dauphin, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-2.

Carlisle and Central Dauphin were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, but Carlisle came up empty-handed after a 67-66 loss. Will Carlisle have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.