Basketball Game Preview: 21st Century Charter Cougars vs. Hammond Central Wolves

The 21st Century Charter Cougars will head out to square off against the Hammond Central Wolves at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. 21st Century Charter knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past five contests -- so hopefully Hammond Central likes a good challenge.

On Tuesday, 21st Century Charter was able to grind out a solid win over Valparaiso, taking the game 58-48. Those 58 points were actually the fewest the Cougars have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.

Terrence Hayes Jr.

Steals

12/16/25 @ Valparaiso	2
12/12/25 @ Pike	2
12/09/25 @ Andrean	3
12/05/25 vs Bowman Academy	5
11/24/25 vs Whitney Young	4

Terrence Hayes Jr. and Jerry Triplett III were among the main playmakers for 21st Century Charter as the former almost dropped a double-double with 13 points and nine boards and the latter went 6-for-10 on his way to 13 points and six rebounds. Hayes Jr. is also crushing it when it comes to steals: he's grabbed at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Jacolby Donaldson was another key player, putting up eight points.

21st Century Charter smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in six consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hammond Central). They walked away with a 60-50 victory over Lighthouse College Prep Academy on Tuesday. The win continues a trend for the Wolves in their matchups with the Lions: they've now won four in a row.

21st Century Charter better focus on containing Elijah Lewis and Cylin Pointer as the pair were huge in Hammond Central's win. Lewis shot 58% from the field en route to 19 points in addition to five boards and five steals, while Pointer went 7-for-17 to rack up 20 points. That's the most points Pointer has posted since back in December of 2024. Semaj Davis also deserves some recognition as he grabbed his first steals of the season.

The victory was their first on the road , bumping their record up to 2-7. As for 21st Century Charter, they now have a winning record of 3-2.

Everything went 21st Century Charter's way against Hammond Central in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, as 21st Century Charter made off with an 81-59 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cougars since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.