Newton Local has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Mississinawa Valley Blackhawks at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
Last Tuesday, Newton Local had to suffer through a rough 64-31 loss at the hands of Tri-Village. While losing is never fun, Newton Local can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 630th, while Tri-Village is ranked 241st).
Meanwhile, Mississinawa Valley's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their fifth straight loss. They fell to National Trail 67-62. Mississinawa Valley has struggled against National Trail recently, as their game on Tuesday was their seventh consecutive lost matchup.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Cing Scott, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 13 rebounds. Those 17 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Kyle Wehrkamp, who scored 16 points along with five assists and five rebounds.
Even though they lost, Mississinawa Valley were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Newton Local now has a losing record at 3-4. As for Mississinawa Valley, they bumped their record down to 1-5 with that defeat, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season.
Newton Local came up short against Mississinawa Valley in their previous matchup back in December of 2022, falling 55-49. Can Newton Local avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
