Preview: Pender Patriots vs. West Columbus Vikings
The Pender Patriots will head out on the road to square off against the West Columbus Vikings at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Pender has struggled recently with five losses in a row, while West Columbus will arrive with three straight wins.
Pender pushed their score all the way to 57 on Saturday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 70-57 to Wallace-Rose Hill. Pender has struggled against Wallace-Rose Hill recently, as their contest on Saturday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Cyrus Page, who scored 16 points along with five rebounds. Jordan Hansley was another key contributor, scoring 14 points.
Meanwhile, West Columbus earned a 63-54 win over South Columbus on Wednesday.
It was another big night for Unique Kelly, who scored 22 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jaylen Bellamy, who scored ten points along with four steals.
Pender's defeat dropped their record down to 2-8. As for West Columbus, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a massive bump to their 6-4 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Pender have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 20.8 rebounds per game. It's a different story for West Columbus, though, as they've been averaging only 27.1 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Pender came up short against West Columbus in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, falling 58-54. Can Pender avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
