The Royal Valley Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Baldwin Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Royal Valley is coming into the match on a five-game losing streak.
Last Wednesday, Royal Valley was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 50-49 to Jefferson West.
Meanwhile, Baldwin put the finishing touches on their sixth blowout victory of the season on Tuesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Paola 58-31 at home. Given Baldwin's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 57th, while Paola is ranked 302nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Baldwin got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Cooper Carr out in front who scored 17 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. Another player making a difference was Leo Schoenberger, who scored seven points along with eight assists and eight rebounds.
Royal Valley has been struggling recently as they've lost ten of their last 11 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-13-1 record this season. As for Baldwin, they pushed their record up to 12-3 with that win, which was their third straight at home.
Royal Valley came up short against Baldwin in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, falling 55-48. Can Royal Valley avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
