The Armstrong River Hawks will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Plum Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with five consecutive losses for Armstrong and ten for Plum.
Last Tuesday, Armstrong suffered a tough 61-35 loss at the hands of Shaler Area. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Armstrong has scored all season.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jacob Szep, who scored 13 points along with two steals. Another player making a difference was Jack Valasek, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Armstrong struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Plum pushed their score all the way to 69 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. The game between them and Penn Hills wasn't particularly close, with Plum falling 83-69. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Plum in their matchups with Penn Hills: they've now lost eight in a row.
Armstrong has been struggling recently as they've lost eight of their last ten matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-11 record this season. As for Plum, they dropped their record down to 5-14 with that defeat, which was their sixth straight at home.
Armstrong barely slipped by Plum when the teams last played back in January, winning 63-62. Will Armstrong repeat their success, or does Plum have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
