The Columbia Raiders and the Vermilion Sailors will compete for holiday cheer at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Columbia is coming into the matchup on a three-game losing streak.
Columbia is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Keystone on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Columbia might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Keystone an easy 60-40 win. While losing is never fun, the Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 360th, while the Wildcats are ranked 124th).
Meanwhile, Vermilion's game on Saturday was all tied up 28-28 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They secured a 56-51 W over Edison.
Vermilion's win came from a few key players Columbia will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Mason Cooper, who posted 18 points and three steals. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in rebounds (four). Adam Gerber was another key player, going 5 of 8 on his way to 12 points.
Vermilion smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive board total in three consecutive games.
The victory got Vermilion back to even at 2-2. As for Columbia, their loss dropped their record down to 3-3.
Everything came up roses for Columbia against Vermilion in their previous matchup back in December of 2019, as the squad secured an 82-50 win. Will Columbia repeat their success, or does Vermilion have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
