Two dominant guards in Brody Buchanan and Braden Bennett are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Fairland Dragons will take on the River Valley Raiders in a tournament on Friday. Fairland is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last 14 games.
Fairland is returning to their home court after beating Chesapeake on theirs, despite the fact Chesapeake has dominated at home this season. Fairland managed a 68-62 victory over Chesapeake last Wednesday. Given the Dragons' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 14th, while the Panthers are ranked 77th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Fairland to victory, but perhaps none more so than Buchanan, who went 6-for-11 from beyond the arc en route to 35 points. That makes it three consecutive games in which Buchanan has scored at least a third of Fairland's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cliff Fransen, who posted 15 points and six rebounds.
Meanwhile, River Valley was able to grind out a solid win over Piketon on Monday, taking the game 56-49.
River Valley's win came from a few key players Fairland will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Bennett, who went 5-for-12 on his way to 19 points and four steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of River Valley's points. Gary Truance was another key player, almost dropping a double-double with 12 points and nine boards.
River Valley's victory bumped their record up to 3-20. As for Fairland, their win was their ninth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-1.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's contest: Fairland has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 38.3% of their three-pointers per game. It's a different story for River Valley, though, as they've only made 27.3% of their threes this season. Given Fairland's sizable advantage in that area, River Valley will need to find a way to close that gap. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
