Franklin Central and Southport are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2018, but not for long. The Franklin Central Flashes will challenge the Southport Cardinals at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Having struggled with five defeats in a row, Franklin Central turned things around against Indianapolis Bishop Chatard on Friday. They blew past the Trojans 65-41. That 24 point margin sets a new team best for the Flashes this season.
Elijah Thompson
| 02/28/25 @ Indianapolis Bishop Chatard | 100% |
| 02/21/25 vs Westfield | 88% |
| 02/14/25 @ Avon | 56% |
| 02/11/25 @ Greenfield-Central | 83% |
| 02/06/25 @ Hamilton Southeastern | 50% |
| + 8 more games |
Franklin Central can attribute much of their success to Elijah Thompson, who dropped a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards, and Ej Hazelett, who shot 56% from the field to rack up 12 points along with seven assists and six rebounds. Thompson is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 50% in the last 13 games he's played. Another player making a difference was Raymond Hayes, who posted nine points.
They weren't the only ones working in the assist department: Franklin Central was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. They racked up seven more assists than Indianapolis Bishop Chatard's also-impressive total of 11.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Southport had no problem doing just that on Tuesday. They came out on top against the Hawks by a score of 61-52. The Cardinals haven't had any issues with the Hawks recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Franklin Central better keep an eye on Jack Turner. He was instrumental in Southport's win, dropping a double-double with 21 points and ten boards. Turner is becoming a predictor of Southport's success: when he posts at least 15 points the team is 6-2 (and 6-9 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of James Kalala, who dropped a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Southport now has a winning record of 12-11. As for Franklin Central, they picked up their first road win, bumping their record up to 7-14.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Franklin Central has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 22.3 boards per game. However, it's not like Southport struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Franklin Central came out on top in a nail-biter against Southport in their previous meeting back in January, sneaking past 57-55. The rematch might be a little tougher for Franklin Central since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
