Basketball Preview: Mobile Christian Leopards vs. Murphy Panthers
The Mobile Christian Leopards are taking a road trip to challenge the Murphy Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Friday, Mobile Christian didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Faith Academy, but they still walked away with a 64-60 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Leopards.
Meanwhile, Murphy came tearing into Friday's matchup with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 42.5 points) and they left with even more momentum. They strolled past the Jaguars with points to spare, taking the game 73-59. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 45th, while the Jaguars are ranked 152nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Jayden Mangram, who went 7 for 13 en route to 20 points plus seven rebounds and two steals. His evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Cordairus Dixon was another key player, going 6 for 15 en route to 15 points plus three steals.
Murphy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive matches.
Mobile Christian's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.7 points per game. As for Murphy, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-2 record this season.
Mobile Christian came up short against Murphy in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 62-54. Can Mobile Christian avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
