Basketball Game Preview: West Branch Warriors vs. Juniata Valley Hornets

The West Branch Warriors and the Juniata Valley Hornets will compete for holiday cheer at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. West Branch is looking for their season's first win.

West Branch is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Tussey Mountain on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. West Branch was dealt a 46-12 loss at the hands of Tussey Mountain. The Warriors were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 28-5.

Meanwhile, Juniata Valley might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Berlin Brothersvalley an easy 58-36 victory. While losing is never fun, the Hornets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 146th, while the Mountaineers are ranked 37th).

West Branch's defeat dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Juniata Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 2-4.

West Branch strolled past Juniata Valley when the teams last played back in January by a score of 50-36. Does West Branch have another victory up their sleeve, or will Juniata Valley turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.