Preview: Crisp County Cougars vs. Columbus Blue Devils
Two dominant forwards in Zakariyya Dwight and Robert Hartford are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Crisp County Cougars will head out on the road to take on the Columbus Blue Devils at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Crisp County is no doubt hoping to put an end to a six-game streak of away losses.
Last Friday, Crisp County suffered a rough 61-40 defeat at the hands of Thomasville.
Despite the loss, Crisp County got a solid performance out of Dwight, who dropped a double-double on 25 points and ten rebounds. That was a full 62.5% of Crisp County's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Chad Dawson was another key contributor, scoring three points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Columbus' good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell to Monroe 50-46. While losing is never fun, Columbus can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 167th, while Monroe is ranked 26th).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Hartford, who scored ten points along with six rebounds and three steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Savon Kelly, who scored nine points along with seven rebounds.
Crisp County has been struggling recently as they've lost nine of their last 11 contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-15 record this season. As for Columbus, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 16-9.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Crisp County have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Columbus struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.3 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Crisp County lost to Columbus on the road by a decisive 58-40 margin when the teams last played on Tuesday. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hartford, who scored 22 points along with two steals. Now that Crisp County knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
