The West Liberty-Salem Tigers and the West Jefferson Roughriders will round out the year against one another at at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Last Monday, West Liberty-Salem came up short against Bellefontaine and fell 55-48.
Meanwhile, West Jefferson was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were five points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 54-49 heartbreaker at the hands of Shekinah Christian. While losing is never fun, the Roughriders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 490th, while the Flames are ranked 190th).
West Liberty-Salem will have to contain Austin Buescher as he made an impact in West Jefferson's last game. He went 7 for 17 on his way to 19 points and seven rebounds. Buescher is also crushing it when it comes to blocks: he's posted at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Nick Fitzpatrick was another key player, putting up six points and six rebounds.
West Liberty-Salem's defeat ended a ten-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 3-2. As for West Jefferson, their loss dropped their record down to 3-3.
West Liberty-Salem didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against West Jefferson in their previous meeting back in January, but they still walked away with a 45-40 win. Will West Liberty-Salem repeat their success, or does West Jefferson have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
