Preview: Manning Monarchs vs. Hartsville Red Foxes
The Manning Monarchs and the Hartsville Red Foxes will face off at 7:30 p.m. on December 27th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard on Wednesday.
Manning has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matches by 24 points or more this season. They put the hurt on Lake City with a sharp 76-50 win last Saturday. Given Manning's advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while Lake City is ranked 209th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Jeffrey Ceasar, who scored 27 points along with five assists and five steals. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. Tavion Carter was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on ten points and 19 rebounds.
Meanwhile, it was close, but Hartsville ultimately received the gift of a 61-59 victory from a begrudging Red Foxessquad. The win made it back-to-back wins for they.
Manning's win bumped their record up to 7-3. As for Hartsville, their win ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-5.
Manning came up short against Hartsville when the teams last played back in January of 2021, falling 72-67. Thankfully for Manning, Cesare Edwards (who dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.