Preview: Lakeland Regional Lancers vs. Passaic Valley Hornets
After three games on the road, Lakeland Regional is heading back home. They will take on the Passaic Valley Hornets at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
Lakeland Regional pushed their score all the way to 56 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 68-56 to Wayne Hills. While losing is never fun, Lakeland Regional can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey basketball rankings (they are ranked 308th, while Wayne Hills is ranked 141st).
Lakeland Regional's defeat came about despite a quality game from Noah Pagan, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 13 rebounds. Justin Meakem was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with two steals.
Even though they lost, Lakeland Regional smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. This was only their tenth loss (out of 13 games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
After soaring to a 33-point win in their last game, Passaic Valley came back down to earth on Tuesday. They fell just short of Fair Lawn by a score of 56-54. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Passaic Valley in their matchups with Fair Lawn: they've now lost three in a row.
Lakeland Regional's loss was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 4-14. As for Passaic Valley, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 11-9 record this season.
Lakeland Regional won a matchup that couldn't have been any closer in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, slipping by Passaic Valley 64-63. Will Lakeland Regional repeat their success, or does Passaic Valley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
