East Palestine is 8-2 against Leetonia since February of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The East Palestine Bulldogs will look to defend their home court against the Leetonia Bears at 7:00 p.m. East Palestine has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Last Tuesday, East Palestine strolled past Academy for Urban Scholars with points to spare, taking the game 61-47. With that victory, East Palestine brought their scoring average up to 50.3 points per game.
East Palestine's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Kyler Bourne, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds, and Owen Jurjavicic, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Jurjavicic has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of RJ May, who scored eight points.
Meanwhile, Leetonia's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their fifth straight loss. They took a serious blow against Heartland Christian, falling 74-38. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Leetonia in their matchups with Heartland Christian: they've now lost seven in a row.
Despite the loss, Leetonia saw an underclassman step up: Dylan Johns scored 11 points.
East Palestine's win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 4-8. As for Leetonia, they bumped their record down to 3-14 with that loss, which was their third straight at home.
Tuesday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: East Palestine have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 40.1% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Leetonia, though, as they've only drained 32.2% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
East Palestine beat Leetonia 53-42 in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. Does East Palestine have another victory up their sleeve, or will Leetonia turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
