Basketball Game Preview: Whiteland Warriors vs. Decatur Central Hawks

Warriors

Points

02/08/25 vs Seymour	53
02/06/25 @ Indian Creek	73
02/01/25 vs Columbus North	63
01/31/25 @ Mooresville	62
01/24/25 vs Franklin Community	57
+ 14 more games

The Whiteland Warriors will face off against the Decatur Central Hawks at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Whiteland is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 59.7 points per game this season.

Last Saturday, Whiteland came up short against Seymour and fell 62-53. The Warriors haven't had much luck with the Owls recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.

The losing side was boosted by Ethan Edwards, who went 5 for 11 to rack up 18 points. That was a full 34% of Whiteland's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. Spencer Gillespie was another key player, putting up seven points.

Meanwhile, Decatur Central was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They lost 66-43 to Terre Haute North Vigo. While losing is never fun, the Hawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 189th, while the Patriots are ranked 16th).

Whiteland will need to focus on slowing down Elyas Zapata, one of several Decatur Central players who made an impact when they last played. He had 13 points and six boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Lavell Love, who went 5 of 10 en route to 11 points and six rebounds.

Whiteland's loss dropped their record down to 8-11. As for Decatur Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-13.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Whiteland has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 23.1 boards per game. However, it's not like Decatur Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 23.9 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Whiteland came up short against Decatur Central in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, falling 78-72. Will Whiteland have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.