Marengo and Choctaw County are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2022, but not for long. A feisty cat fight will be fought when the Marengo Panthers face off against the Choctaw County Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Choctaw County took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Marengo, who comes in off a win.
Marengo is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Johnson: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Marengo blew Johnson out of the water with a 59-21 final score. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 34-10.
DeVontae Tucker was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 29 points and 15 boards. He continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Moore, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 14 points and four steals.
Meanwhile, Choctaw County played a tough match last Saturday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They took a blow against Southern Choctaw, falling 73-44. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 393rd, while the Indians are ranked 166th).
Marengo will need focus on slowing down Jaydon Thomas, one of several Choctaw County players who made an impact when they last played. He posted 12 points and five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Jarrod Chaney, who went 9 of 19 on his way to 18 points and five rebounds.
Choctaw County's defeat dropped their record down to 4-7. As for Marengo, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 6-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Marengo has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 41.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Choctaw County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 25.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Marengo and Choctaw County were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in February, but Marengo came up empty-handed after a 37-36 loss. Can Marengo avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
