Basketball Game Preview: Monroe Area Purple Hurricanes vs. Cherokee Bluff Bears

The Monroe Area Purple Hurricanes will challenge the Cherokee Bluff Bears at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

On Monday, Monroe Area lost to North Gwinnett on the road by a 61-42 margin.

Meanwhile, Cherokee Bluff came tearing into Saturday's matchup with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16.9 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Wolves by a score of 86-76. Given the Bears' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Wolves are ranked 59th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Cherokee Bluff pushed their record up to 14-1 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 80.6 points per game. As for Monroe Area, their loss dropped their record down to 4-8.

Monroe Area strolled past Cherokee Bluff in their previous matchup back in December of 2021 by a score of 72-57. Does Monroe Area have another victory up their sleeve, or will Cherokee Bluff turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.