The Tuscarawas Valley Trojans will venture away from home to take on the Marlington Dukes at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday.
Tuscarawas Valley is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Hiland on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Tuscarawas Valley came up short against Hiland, falling 59-34. The loss continues a trend for the Trojans in their matchups with the Hawks: they've now lost four in a row.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Cole Kuykendall, who posted eight points. Another player making a difference was Brody May, who went 5 for 11 on his way to 12 points.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Marlington). They took their game on Friday with ease, bagging a 70-37 win over Salem. Given the Dukes' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 271st, while the Quakers are ranked 596th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Marlington has also been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.5 points per game. As for Tuscarawas Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-12.
Tuscarawas Valley came up short against Marlington in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, falling 52-43. Can Tuscarawas Valley avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
