Chincoteague is 0-10 against Arcadia since January of 2020 but things could change on Thursday. The Chincoteague Ponies just played last yesterday, but they'll still welcome the Arcadia Firebirds at 7:00 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
On Wednesday, everything went Chincoteague's way against Holly Grove Christian as Chincoteague made off with a 52-28 win. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Ponies' disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 398th in Virginia, while the Eagles are ranked 59th in Maryland).
Chincoteague can attribute much of their success to Byron Hurst, who posted ten points and seven assists. Another player making a difference was Matthew Taylor, who scored six points and three blocks.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Arcadia). They took their game on Tuesday with ease, bagging an 82-46 win over Nandua. The victory was familiar territory for the Firebirds who have now won seven contests in a row.
Chincoteague better keep an eye on Jordan Cropper. He was instrumental in Arcadia's win, dropping a double-double on 17 points and 12 rebounds. With that strong performance, Cropper is now averaging an impressive 8.2 boards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyrell Wise, who had 15 points and five rebounds.
Arcadia smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in January of 2024.
Chincoteague's win bumped their record up to 4-8. As for Arcadia, they pushed their record up to 11-5 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Chincoteague has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 33 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Arcadia struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.3 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Chincoteague was taken down by Arcadia 74-41 in their previous matchup last Tuesday. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Cropper, who dropped a double-double on 25 points and ten rebounds. Now that Chincoteague knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
