Basketball Game Preview: Marlington Dukes vs. Tuscarawas Valley Trojans

The Marlington Dukes will face off against the Tuscarawas Valley Trojans at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday. Marlington will be strutting in after a win while Tuscarawas Valley will be coming in after a defeat.

Marlington is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Salem, posting a 70-37 victory. Given the Dukes' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 271st, while the Quakers are ranked 596th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Tuscarawas Valley played a tough contest on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They lost 59-34 to Hiland. The loss continues a trend for the Trojans in their matchups with the Hawks: they've now lost four in a row.

Marlington will need focus on slowing down Cole Kuykendall, one of several Tuscarawas Valley players who made an impact when they last played. He posted eight points. The team also got some help courtesy of Brody May, who went 5 for 11 on his way to 12 points.

Marlington has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.5 points per game. As for Tuscarawas Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-12.

Marlington was able to grind out a solid win over Tuscarawas Valley in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, winning 52-43. Does Marlington have another victory up their sleeve, or will Tuscarawas Valley turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.