Preview: Everton Tigers vs. School of the Ozarks Patriots
Everton is 1-9 against School of the Ozarks since January of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Everton Tigers will head out on the road to square off against the School of the Ozarks Patriots at 7:15 p.m. Everton comes in still looking for their first win of the season.
Last Monday, Everton took a serious blow against McAuley Catholic, falling 62-29.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Josh Daniels, who scored six points along with 12 rebounds and six steals. He hasn't dropped below two steals for 17 straight games.
Meanwhile, School of the Ozarks' recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their third straight defeat. They were outmatched by Classical on the road and fell 67-40. While losing is never fun, School of the Ozarks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 291st in Missouri, while Classical is ranked 78th in Kansas).
School of the Ozarks' loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Josiah Martin, who scored ten points along with six rebounds, and Scott Carswell who scored five points.
Everton dropped their record down to 0-22 with that loss, which was their 22nd straight at home dating back to last season. Those losses could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 27.3 points per game. As for School of the Ozarks, they have not been sharp recently as the team has lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 13-8 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Everton have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like School of the Ozarks struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everton was taken down by School of the Ozarks 52-21 in their previous meeting back in February of 2023. Can Everton avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
