Preview: Millville Thunderbolts vs. Gloucester City Lions
The Millville Thunderbolts and the Gloucester City Lions will round out the year against one another at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday at. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Millville scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Friday. They enjoyed a cozy 70-53 victory over Vineland. The win was just what Millville needed coming off of a 66-42 defeat in their prior game.
Meanwhile, Gloucester City had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They took their game at home with ease, bagging a 78-33 win over Gateway Regional. Given Gloucester City's advantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey basketball rankings (they are ranked 82nd, while Gateway Regional is ranked 355th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Gloucester City to victory, but perhaps none more so than Ryan James, who scored 14 points. The game was James' third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Michael Light, who scored nine points along with six rebounds.
The victory got Millville back to even at 2-2. As for Gloucester City, their victory was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-0.
Millville came up short against Gloucester City in their previous matchup back in December of 2015, falling 58-47. Can Millville avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
