East Central hasn't had much luck against Connersville recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The East Central Trojans will head out on the road to challenge the Connersville Spartans at 7:30 p.m. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.
East Central is headed into the game having just suffered their biggest defeat since December 13, 2024 on Saturday. They lost 53-28 to Columbus North. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Trojans' biggest loss of the season was also their lowest-scoring.
Despite the loss, East Central had strong showings from Peyton Hofer, who posted nine points, and Liam Rogers, who earned 11 points. Another player making a difference was Elijah Sehlhorst, who scored three points.
Meanwhile, Connersville was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They were outmatched by Columbus North and fell 69-39. While losing is never fun, the Spartans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 207th, while the Bull Dogs are ranked 31st).
East Central will have to keep a close watch on Jadan Peterson and Maddox Rees, a pair of players who had a big impact on Connersville's prior game. Peterson went 6 of 11 en route to 16 points and three steals, while Rees put up eight points. Peterson's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points.
Connersville's loss dropped their record down to 7-11. As for East Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-10.
Thursday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: East Central has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 36.7% of their three-pointers per game. However, it's not like Connersville struggles in that department as they've made 35.5% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
East Central was able to grind out a solid win over Connersville in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, winning 48-35. The rematch might be a little tougher for East Central since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
