Preview: Davie War Eagles vs. R.J. Reynolds Demons
The Davie War Eagles will be playing at home against the R.J. Reynolds Demons at 7:45 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Davie's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
Even though Parkland scored an imposing 64 points on Friday, Davie still came out on top. Davie took their contest against Parkland 72-64. Given Davie's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 25th, while Parkland is ranked 213th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Davie to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jackson Powers, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds. Powers is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last six games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Ratledge, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, R.J. Reynolds was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Wednesday as they fell 58-52 to Reagan.
R.J. Reynolds' loss came about despite a quality game from Antoine Jones Jr., who scored 27 points along with four steals. Jones Jr. hasn't dropped below 15points for nine straight games. Another player making a difference was Kingston Carmichael, who scored 11 points.
R.J. Reynolds struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Davie's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-0. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.8 points per game. As for R.J. Reynolds, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-7 record this season.
Davie took their victory against R.J. Reynolds in their previous matchup back in January of 2023 by a conclusive 56-36. Does Davie have another victory up their sleeve, or will R.J. Reynolds turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
