Penn Cambria is on a three-game streak of home losses, Bedford a four-game streak of away losses, but someone's luck will change on Friday. The Penn Cambria Panthers will welcome the Bedford Bisons at 7:15 p.m. One thing working in Penn Cambria's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five games.
Last Friday, Penn Cambria ended up a good deal behind Bishop Guilfoyle and lost 77-63. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 206th, while the Marauders are ranked 37th).
| 01/17/25 vs Bishop Guilfoyle | 15 |
| 01/15/25 @ Richland | 18 |
| 01/13/25 @ Somerset | 25 |
Penn Cambria's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Caden Gibbons, who went 7 for 9 en route to 17 points and five boards, and Brandon Rabish, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 15 points and three steals. The match was Rabish's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Blake Lilly, who posted 12 points.
Meanwhile, Bedford was just a bucket shy of victory on Friday and fell 51-50 to Clearfield.
Penn Cambria will need focus on slowing down Aj Koontz, one of several Bedford players who made an impact when they last played. He had eight points and nine rebounds. Koontz is on a roll when it comes to boards, as he's now pulled down nine or more in the last three games he's played. Owen Taylor was another key player, putting up 15 points.
Even though they lost, Bedford smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in three consecutive contests.
Penn Cambria now has a losing record at 6-7. As for Bedford, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-10.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Penn Cambria has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 29.1 boards per game. However, it's not like Bedford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Penn Cambria was able to grind out a solid victory over Bedford in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, winning 64-52. Will Penn Cambria repeat their success, or does Bedford have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
