Basketball Game Preview: Tuscarawas Central Catholic Saints vs. Buckeye Trail Warriors

Tuscarawas Central Catholic and Buckeye Trail are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2018, but not for long. The Tuscarawas Central Catholic Saints will be playing in front of their home fans against the Buckeye Trail Warriors at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Tuscarawas Central Catholic has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with eight straight defeats, while Buckeye Trail will come in with four straight wins.

Tuscarawas Central Catholic is likely headed into the contest with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Tuscarawas Valley on Friday. Tuscarawas Central Catholic fell just short of Tuscarawas Valley by a score of 48-45. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Saints have suffered against the Trojans since January 4, 2019.

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Ethan Rothrock, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 11 boards. He is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayce McCollins, who posted 13 points.

Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Buckeye Trail beat Conotton Valley 38-32 last Tuesday. The 38-point effort marked the Warriors' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Buckeye Trail has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-2 record this season. As for Tuscarawas Central Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-9.

Tuscarawas Central Catholic came up short against Buckeye Trail in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, falling 59-46. Will Tuscarawas Central Catholic have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.