Basketball Game Preview: Jackson South Side Hawks vs. Jackson Central Merry Cougars

Jackson South Side has gone 7-0 against Jackson Central Merry recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. The Jackson South Side Hawks will face off against the Jackson Central Merry Cougars at 6:00 p.m. Jackson South Side is coming into the game hot, having won their last five games.

Jackson South Side can't be too worried about heading out to take on Jackson Central Merry: they just beat Jackson Christian at home, who had been dominant on their own court up to that point. Jackson South Side enjoyed a cozy 59-43 victory over Jackson Christian on Monday. Given the Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 24th, while the Eagles are ranked 95th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Jaidynn Askins

Points

02/06/24 @ Lexington	31
12/30/24 @ Jackson Christian	25
12/28/24 vs South Gibson	23
12/20/24 vs Haywood	23
12/01/23 @ Haywood	22

It was another big night for Jaidynn Askins, who went 8 for 11 on her way to 25 points in addition to seven boards and five steals. That's the most points she has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Ri'Kiya Mitchell, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten boards.

Jackson South Side smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in five consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Jackson Central Merry hadn't done well against Covington recently (they were 0-4 in their previous four matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. Jackson Central Merry came out on top against Covington by a score of 56-44.

Jackson South Side pushed their record up to 11-2 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.0 points per game. As for Jackson Central Merry, their record now sits at 8-4.

Everything came up roses for Jackson South Side against Jackson Central Merry when the teams last played back in December of 2024, as the team secured a 62-29 victory. In that contest, Jackson South Side amassed a halftime lead of 41-14, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.