The Somerville Pioneers will head out on the road to face off against the Dayton Bulldogs at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
On Thursday, Somerville came up short against the Cougars and fell 55-44. Somerville has struggled against the Cougars recently, as their match on Thursday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Meanwhile, Dayton ended up a good deal behind the Pioneers on Thursday and lost 56-39. While losing is never fun, Dayton can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey basketball rankings (they are ranked 318th, while the Pioneers are ranked 67th).
The losing side was boosted by Malcolm Jackson, who scored 19 points along with five rebounds. It was the first time this season that he scored 15 or more points. Marcus Manfredi was another key contributor, scoring nine points.
Somerville has been struggling recently as they've lost nine of their last 12 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-11 record this season. As for Dayton, they dropped their record down to 5-13 with that loss, which was their third straight on the road.
Everything came up roses for Somerville against the Bulldogs in their previous matchup back in December of 2015 as the team secured a 58-27 win. With Somerville ahead 42-11 at the half, the game was all but over already.
