Basketball Game Preview: Columbiana Clippers vs. South Range Raiders

Columbiana is 0-7 against South Range since December of 2014 but things could change on Saturday. Having just played yesterday, the Columbiana Clippers will head out on the road to face off against the South Range Raiders at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

On Friday, Columbiana made easy work of Leetonia and carried off a 68-42 win. The Clippers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 21 points or more this season.

Columbiana's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Cooper Brown, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 11 boards, and Seth Struharik, who went 8 for 15 en route to 23 points and six rebounds. Struharik's evening made it five games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Reese Roush, who posted six points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, South Range came tearing into Tuesday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took down the Red Dragons 70-53. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 146th, while the Red Dragons are ranked 528th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

South Range pushed their record up to 9-2 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.5 points per game. As for Columbiana, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 12-1.

Columbiana suffered a grim 52-32 defeat to South Range in their previous matchup back in March of 2019. Can Columbiana avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.