Perry Meridian and Martinsville are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2015, but not for long. The Perry Meridian Falcons will face off against the Martinsville Artesians at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Perry Meridian is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 56.2 points per game this season.
Last Tuesday, Perry Meridian was beaten by Ben Davis 75-44. While losing is never fun, the Falcons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 209th, while the Giants are ranked third).
Loss or not, Perry Meridian got some senior leadership from Sterlin Lewis and Braydon Hohlt. Lewis went 6 for 10 en route to 17 points, while Hohlt posted 11 points and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Martinsville was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They were five points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 59-54 heartbreaker at the hands of Bloomington North.
Perry Meridian will need focus on slowing down Grady Gardner, one of several Martinsville players who made an impact when they last played. He scored 26 points and five boards. That was a full 48.1% of Martinsville's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's put up more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Zhane Capshaw, who went 5 of 9 on his way to 10 points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Even though they lost, Martinsville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive board total in three consecutive games.
Perry Meridian has traveled a rocky road recently having lost eight of their last ten matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-10 record this season. As for Martinsville, their loss dropped their record down to 3-9.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Perry Meridian hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 56.2 points per game. However, it's not like Martinsville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 58.6 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Perry Meridian was able to grind out a solid victory over Martinsville in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, winning 58-49. The rematch might be a little tougher for Perry Meridian since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
