Basketball Game Preview: Westover Patriots vs. Dougherty Trojans

The Westover Patriots will face off against the Dougherty Trojans at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Westover is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Monroe just ended the team's five-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Golden Tornadoes by a score of 59-56.

Despite their defeat, Westover saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Mykell Hines, who went 5 of 6 on his way to 11 points and eight boards, was perhaps the best of all. The dominant performance gave Hines a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Jalen Holmes, who posted eight points and three blocks.

Even though they lost, Westover smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in seven consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Dougherty had already won two in a row and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They claimed a resounding 83-50 victory over the Syrupmakers. Given the Trojans' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 105th, while the Syrupmakers are ranked 398th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Dougherty is also on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.8 points per game. As for Westover, their loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 13-5.

Westover was able to grind out a solid win over Dougherty in their previous matchup on January 14th, winning 60-48. Does Westover have another victory up their sleeve, or will Dougherty turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.