Preview: Escambia County Blue Devils vs. Jackson Aggies
The Escambia County Blue Devils will head out on the road to challenge the Jackson Aggies at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Monday, Escambia County strolled past T.R. Miller with points to spare, taking the game 52-33. Given Escambia County's advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 135th, while T.R. Miller is ranked 297th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Stephen Williams was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 16 points and 13 rebounds. He hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for 11 straight games. Cleo Bolar jr. was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Jackson had no problem doing just that on Monday. They claimed a resounding 75-20 victory over the Gators at home. The victory was nothing new for Jackson as they're now sitting on 13 straight.
Jackson's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Keeyun Chapman, who scored 12 points along with eight rebounds and four steals, and Landon Duckworth, who scored 16 points along with five steals. Chapman has been hot recently, having posted three or more blocks the last five times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Micah Caster, who scored ten points along with four steals.
Escambia County has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season. As for Jackson, they pushed their record up to 23-2 with that victory, which was their 25th straight at home dating back to last season.
Wednesday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Escambia County have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 45.2% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Jackson struggles in that department as they've made 47% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Escambia County ended up a good deal behind Jackson in their previous matchup two weeks ago, losing 63-45. Can Escambia County avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
