Basketball Preview: Howard Lions vs. Atholton Raiders
The Howard Lions will head out on the road to face off against the Atholton Raiders at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. One thing working in Howard's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three matchups.
Howard pushed their score all the way to 67 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 74-67 hit to the loss column at the hands of Long Reach. While losing is never fun, Howard can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 106th, while the Lightning are ranked 24th).
Meanwhile, Atholton scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Friday. They managed a 75-70 win over River Hill. Winning may never get old, but Atholton sure is getting used to it with their seventh in a row.
Deion Dent continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 18 points along with five rebounds and five steals. He has been hot recently, having posted 18 or more points the last three times he's played. Juan Macatangay was another key contributor, scoring six points along with nine rebounds and two steals.
Howard's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 10-6. As for Atholton, their win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-5.
Howard came out on top in a nail-biter against the Raiders when the teams last played back in December of 2023, sneaking past 64-62. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Dent, who scored 22 points along with two steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Howard still be able to contain Dent? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
