vs
| 01/03/24 - Home | 44-55 L |
| 01/18/23 - Home | 64-54 W |
| 01/19/22 - Away | 57-41 W |
| 12/18/19 - Home | 59-51 W |
| 12/17/18 - Home | 76-27 W |
| + 4 more games |
North Point is 8-1 against Northern since January of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The North Point Eagles will head out to challenge the Northern Patriots at 6:00 p.m. North Point is coming into the game on a five-game losing streak.
North Point saw some tournament action on Saturday. They took a hard 61-42 fall against Oxon Hill. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 169th, while the Clippers are ranked 31st).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was DJ Brown, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 11 boards. Another player making a difference was Jermaine Griffin, who posted six points.
Even though they lost, North Point smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.
While Northern didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-11), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. In a tight match that could have gone either way, they made off with a 65-64 victory over Richard Montgomery. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Patriots.
North Point better keep an eye on Alec Johnson. He was instrumental in Northern's win, dropping a double-double on 24 points and 20 rebounds. Those 20 boards gave Johnson a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jeremiah Byrd, who went 5 of 12 on his way to 15 points and three steals.
Northern's win bumped their record up to 6-1. As for North Point, their loss dropped their record down to 2-6.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: North Point has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Northern struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
North Point came up short against Northern in their previous meeting back in January, falling 55-44. Thankfully for North Point, Will Ellis (who went 6 of 8 from beyond the arc on his way to 24 points) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
