River Valley has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Conemaugh Township Indians at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Monday, it was close, but River Valley sidestepped the Blue Jays for a 50-47 victory. That's two games straight that River Valley has won by exactly three points.
River Valley got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Brad McDivitt out in front who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points McDivitt has scored all season. Dom Speal was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Conemaugh Township had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They managed a 45-41 win over West Shamokin on Monday. The victory was familiar territory for Conemaugh Township who now have four in a row.
It was another big night for Jon Updyke, who dropped a double-double on 25 points and ten rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Conemaugh Township's points. Another player making a difference was Ethan Matera, who scored eight points along with nine rebounds and three blocks.
River Valley pushed their record up to 16-6 with that win, which was their sixth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.0 points per game. As for Conemaugh Township, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 18-3 record this season.
River Valley was taken down by the Indians 72-44 in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. Can River Valley avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
