Preview: Atholton Raiders vs. River Hill Hawks
The Atholton Raiders will head out on the road to take on the River Hill Hawks at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Atholton focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 two weeks ago.
Atholton has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They received a tough blow as they fell 67-51 to Wise.
Despite their loss, Atholton saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Camden Thibeault, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds and four steals, was perhaps the best of all. Thibeault has been hot recently, having posted three or more steals the last five times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Amir Shaheed, who scored 15 points along with two steals.
In what's become a running theme this season, River Hill gave their fans yet another huge win last Tuesday. They claimed a resounding 73-46 victory over Laurel at home. Given River Hill's advantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 31st, while Laurel is ranked 150th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
River Hill's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Aiden Igwebe, who scored 17 points along with eight rebounds and two blocks. Igwebe is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was OJ Ndu, who scored 12 points along with eight rebounds and five steals.
Atholton's defeat dropped their record down to 14-8. As for River Hill, their win bumped their record up to 19-3.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Atholton have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like River Hill struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Atholton didn't have too much breathing room in their game against River Hill in their previous meeting on February 2nd, but they still walked away with a 75-70 win. Will Atholton repeat their success, or does River Hill have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
