Preview: Cairo Syrupmakers vs. Hardaway Hawks
Cairo and Hardaway are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2018, but not for long. The Cairo Syrupmakers will head out on the road to square off against the Hardaway Hawks at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Cairo scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Saturday. In a tight game that could have gone either way, they made off with a 78-77 win over Spencer. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Cairo's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Keshen Spence led the charge by scoring 31 points along with six rebounds and five assists. That makes it three consecutive games in which Spence has scored at least a third of Cairo's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Amari Powell, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Russell County typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday Hardaway proved too difficult a challenge. They came out on top against the Warriors by a score of 61-51. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Hardaway.
Hardaway can attribute much of their success to Mekhi Benton, who scored 16 points along with six assists and three steals, and Lamell Mims, who scored 20 points along with three steals. Another player making a difference was Antonio Dortch, who scored 11 points along with two steals.
Cairo has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-8 record this season. As for Hardaway, their victory bumped their record up to 12-8.
Cairo barely slipped by Hardaway in their previous matchup on January 5th, winning 54-53. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Mims, who scored 16 points. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Cairo still be able to contain him? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
