Basketball Game Preview: James Wood Colonels vs. Handley Judges

James Wood is 1-9 against Handley since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The James Wood Colonels will host the Handley Judges at 7:30 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with James Wood sitting on five straight victories and Handley on eight.

James Wood saw some tournament action on Saturday. They enjoyed a cozy 49-34 win over Southern Fulton. Given the Colonels' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 215th in Virginia, while the Indians are ranked 470th in Pennsylvania), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Handley's strategy against Eastern Mennonite on Monday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Handley blew Eastern Mennonite out of the water with an 88-35 final score. The Judges have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matchups by 26 points or more this season.

Handley's victory was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-0. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 33.4 points. As for James Wood, they now have a winning record of 5-4.

James Wood suffered a grim 78-57 defeat to Handley in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Can James Wood avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.