Basketball Preview: Bel Air Bobcats vs. Joppatowne Mariners
Bel Air is 0-10 against the Mariners since December of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Bel Air Bobcats will look to defend their home court against the Joppatowne Mariners at 5:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Bel Air had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22.7 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They secured a 75-69 W over Bohemia Manor.
Meanwhile, Joppatowne strolled past the Cougars with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 70-52.
Joppatowne found their leader in underclassman Kishann Smith, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds. Smith hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for nine straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Damian Brooks, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds.
Bel Air has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-8 record this season. As for Joppatowne, their victory bumped their record up to 10-6.
Bel Air took a serious blow against the Mariners in their previous matchup back in January, falling 78-51. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Smith, who scored 20 points along with eight rebounds and four blocks. Now that Bel Air knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
