Preview: Toll Gate Titans vs. West Warwick Wizards
Toll Gate has played every game this season on their home court, but they'll have to hit the road on Thursday. They will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the West Warwick Wizards at 5:00 p.m. West Warwick took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Toll Gate, who comes in off a win.
Two weeks ago, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Toll Gate beat Tiverton 45-39. The team ran away with 33 points in the first half and mostly just sat on those to pick up the win.
Will Goodine and Dylan Perreault were among the main playmakers for Toll Gate as the former scored seven points along with seven rebounds and five assists and the latter dropped a double-double on 21 points and 21 rebounds. Perreault is absolutely dominating the rebound category: he's posted at least eight every time he's taken the court this season.
Meanwhile, West Warwick's 18-7 record from last season is now well into the rear view mirror after another tough outing. They took a 55-49 hit to the loss column at the hands of Moses Brown.
West Warwick's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Dylan Viveiros , who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds, and Owen Stearns who scored 17 points along with six rebounds. The contest was Stearns' third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was James Branch , who scored four points along with three steals.
Toll Gate's victory ended a seven-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 1-2. As for West Warwick, they now have a losing record at 1-2.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Toll Gate have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 35 rebounds per game. It's a different story for West Warwick, though, as they've been averaging only 28 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Toll Gate came out on top in a nail-biter against West Warwick in their previous meeting back in January of 2022, sneaking past 50-47. Does Toll Gate have another victory up their sleeve, or will West Warwick turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
