Preview: South Garner Titans vs. Garner Trojans
South Garner is 0-10 against Garner since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The South Garner Titans will be home for the holidays to greet the Garner Trojans at 5:30 p.m. One thing working in South Garner's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
Even though South Garner has not done well against Knightdale recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. South Garner blew past Knightdale 59-38. Given South Garner's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 132nd, while Knightdale is ranked 282nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
South Garner's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Tamia Darden, who scored 20 points along with eight rebounds. The matchup was Darden's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Taylor Moore, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Meanwhile, this season hasn't been kind to Garner, who are still winless after their fourth match. They were dealt a 91-55 loss at the hands of Middle Creek on Thursday. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Garner's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Sumayah Jones, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Olivia Jacobs who scored 20 points along with nine rebounds and six assists. Jacobs scored a full 36.4% of Garner's points, the fourth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyasiah Holder, who scored ten points.
South Garner's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-1. As for Garner, their loss dropped their record down to 0-4.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: South Garner hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 58.5 points per game. It's a different story for Garner, though, as they've been averaging only 44.2 points per game. The only thing between South Garner and another offensive beatdown is Garner. Will they be able to keep them contained?
South Garner suffered a grim 59-33 defeat to Garner when the teams last played back in January. Can South Garner avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
