After both having extra time off, the Latta Vikings and the Waccamaw Warriors will shake off the cobwebs and take on one another at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with five defeats in a row, Latta turned things around against Hannah-Pamplico last Thursday. They secured a 51-45 W over the Raiders.
| 12/19/24 vs Hannah-Pamplico | 14 |
| 12/17/24 vs Carvers Bay | 9 |
| 12/06/24 @ East Clarendon | 4 |
Latta found their leader in sophomore Dezmond Bethea, who went 7 for 10 on his way to 14 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Bethea has scored all season. Isaiah Mcrae was another key player, putting up nine points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Waccamaw had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.8 points) and they went ahead and made it five last Saturday. It was close, but they ultimately received the gift of a 51-48 victory from a begrudging Warriors squad. While they didn't have the best season last year (they finished 8-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Latta better focus on containing Sutton Cooper and AJ Grate as the pair were huge in Waccamaw's win. Cooper posted 18 points, while Grate had eight points along with six rebounds and six steals. Grate is becoming a predictor of Waccamaw's success: when he posts at least three steals the team is 5-1 (and 2-3 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Connor Hart, who posted seven points in addition to six assists and six boards.
Waccamaw smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in five consecutive games.
Waccamaw has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. As for Latta, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-6.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Latta has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 30.1 boards per game. However, it's not like Waccamaw struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
