Basketball Game Preview: Palisades Pirates vs. Bangor Slaters

Palisades hasn't had much luck against Bangor recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Palisades Pirates will face off against the Bangor Slaters at 12:45 p.m. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

Palisades is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Wilson Area on Saturday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Palisades lost 76-51 to Wilson Area. While losing is never fun, the Pirates can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 618th, while the Warriors are ranked 278th).

Despite their loss, Palisades saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Blake Oglialoro, who went 6 of 12 on his way to 17 points, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Riley Andrew, who went 6 for 11 on his way to 12 points.

Meanwhile, Bangor came up short against Northwestern Lehigh on Monday, falling 69-43. The Slaters have struggled against the Tigers recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.

This is the second loss in a row for Palisades and nudges their season record down to 2-6. As for Bangor, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-4.

Palisades came up short against Bangor in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, falling 38-26. Can Palisades avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.