Hazleton Area is 8-2 against the Spartans since February of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The Hazleton Area Cougars will head out on the road to challenge the Wyoming Valley West Spartans at 7:15 p.m. Hopefully Hazleton Area is not getting complacent, as they presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than the Spartans in Pennsylvania (the Cougars are ranked 31st, while the Spartans are ranked 316th).
Hazleton Area stacked a 13th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Thursday. They blew past Wilkes-Barre 55-25 at home. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Hazleton Area had established a 23 point advantage.
Meanwhile, Wyoming Valley West's game on Monday was all tied up 18-18 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They walked away with a 43-36 victory over Berwick.
Hazleton Area pushed their record up to 18-2 with that victory, which was their seventh straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.0 points per game. As for Wyoming Valley West, their victory ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-4.
Hazleton Area took their victory against the Spartans in their previous meeting back in January by a conclusive 83-59. The rematch might be a little tougher for Hazleton Area since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
