Preview: Hammond Central Wolves vs. Valparaiso Vikings
Two dominant guards in Marcus Browder and Jack Smiley are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Hammond Central Wolves will be playing in front of their home fans against the Valparaiso Vikings at 7:00 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.
Hammond Central had to endure a four-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They strolled past Calumet New Tech with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 78-64. The win was just what Hammond Central needed coming off of a 73-47 defeat in their prior matchup.
Hammond Central got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Browder out in front who scored 20 points along with six assists and six rebounds. Browder hasn't dropped below 17 points for six straight games. Another player making a difference was Gregory Dotson, who scored 15 points along with seven rebounds and six assists.
Chesterton typically has all the answers at home, but on Friday Valparaiso proved too difficult a challenge. They secured a 63-57 W over the Trojans. The win made it back-to-back wins for Valparaiso.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Valparaiso to victory, but perhaps none more so than Smiley, who scored 17 points along with six assists and six rebounds. Smiley has been hot recently, having posted 16 or more points the last 12 times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Caden Crowell, who scored 16 points.
Hammond Central's win bumped their record up to 7-11. As for Valparaiso, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 18-5 record this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
