The Marshall Owls will take on the Moberly Spartans in a holiday battle at 7:45 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Marshall came into this matchup off a tough 20-point loss last Tuesday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Fulton by a score of 66-64 on Friday. The Owls have struggled against the Hornets recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Marshall might have lost, but man, Chase Thompson was a machine: he shot 52% from the field on his way to 32 points. Another player making a difference was Brody Kueker, who posted eight points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Moberly entered their tilt with Hannibal on Tuesday with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They came out on top against the Pirates by a score of 55-45. Given the Spartans' advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 44th, while the Pirates are ranked 312th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Moberly's win came from a few key players Marshall will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Amar'E Hawkins, who went 6-for-11 en route to 14 points and five steals. Those five steals gave him a new career-high. Ethan Land was another key player, putting up ten points.
Moberly's win bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Marshall, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Marshall has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Moberly struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Marshall came up short against Moberly when the teams last played back in February, falling 65-55. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Spartans' Cameron Doubrava, who shot 50% from the field to rack up 24 points and three steals. Now that the Owls know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
