Fayette Ware and Haywood are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2021, but not for long. The Fayette Ware Wildcats are taking a road trip to challenge the Haywood Tomcats at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Fayette Ware knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 12 games -- so hopefully Haywood likes a good challenge.
If Haywood heads into halftime all tied up, they better play a good second half: that's when Fayette Ware took over last week. Fayette Ware had just enough and edged Bolton out 73-70. Given Fayette Ware's advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 29th, while Bolton is ranked 204th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 01/31/25 @ Bolton | 18 |
| 01/28/25 vs Bolivar Central | 13 |
| 01/24/25 vs Haywood | 16 |
| 01/21/25 vs Bolton | 12 |
| 01/17/25 vs Tennessee Preparatory Academy | 18 |
Fayette Ware's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Tarecous Stevens, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 18 boards. Stevens has been hot, having posted ten or more rebounds the last eight times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kylon Terry, who posted 13 points in addition to eight boards and three steals.
Fayette Ware smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 27 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 43 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Haywood strolled past Bolivar Central with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 83-69. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Tomcats.
Haywood's win came from a few key players Fayette Ware will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Lekendric Phillips, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and ten rebounds. Jaybyon Snipe was another key player, going 8 for 15 on his way to 22 points and seven boards.
Fayette Ware is on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 16 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.6 points per game. As for Haywood, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-11.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Fayette Ware and Haywood are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Fayette Ware hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 64.8 points per game. However, it's not like Haywood struggles in that department as they've been averaging 69 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Everything went Fayette Ware's way against Haywood in their previous matchup last Friday, as Fayette Ware made off with a 72-51 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Fayette Ware since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
