Preston is 2-8 against Philip Barbour since January of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Preston Knights will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Philip Barbour Colts at 7:00 p.m. Preston is hoping to put an end to a 14-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Preston managed to keep up with University until halftime on Wednesday, but things quickly went downhill from there. Preston suffered a rough 73-49 loss at the hands of University. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Preston came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' West Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 87th, while University is ranked 434th).
Despite the loss, Preston had strong showings from Aaron White, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds, and Brier Rugg, who scored 13 points. Those 12 points set a new season-high mark for him.
Even though they lost, Preston were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Philip Barbour beat Robert C. Byrd 52-47 two weeks ago. The victory was just what Philip Barbour needed coming off of a 77-49 loss in their prior contest.
Preston now has a losing record at 2-3. As for Philip Barbour, their win ended a four-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 1-2.
Preston lost to Philip Barbour on the road by a decisive 86-68 margin when the teams last played back in January. Can Preston avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
