Preview: Dwyer Panthers vs. St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders
The Dwyer Panthers are on the road again on Tuesday and plays the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on February 20th. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Dwyer extended their postseason success on Thursday against Southridge. They were the clear victor by a 72-49 margin over the Spartans. Dwyer has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 matchups by 22 points or more this season.
Dwyer's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Amari Nealy, who scored 18 points along with eight rebounds and two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaelen Nelson, who scored 17 points along with eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, St. Thomas Aquinas had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They strolled past Plantation with points to spare, taking the game 69-52. Given St. Thomas Aquinas' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 16th, while Plantation is ranked 158th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Matt Andreopoulos had an outrageously good game as he scored 23 points along with three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Drake (DJ) Sandi, who scored 11 points along with six assists and three steals.
Dwyer's victory bumped their record up to 22-3. As for St. Thomas Aquinas, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 20-6 record this season.
Tuesday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Dwyer have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 43.4% of their threes per game. However, it's not like St. Thomas Aquinas struggles in that department as they've nailed 41.7% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Dwyer beat St. Thomas Aquinas 70-57 in their previous meeting back in February of 2018. The rematch might be a little tougher for Dwyer since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
