The Cabell Midland Knights will venture away from home to square off against the Lincoln County Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
On Thursday, Cabell Midland came up short against Spring Valley and fell 66-55. The defeat continues a trend for the Knights in their matchups with the Timberwolves : they've now lost four in a row.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Samuel Phillips, who posted 16 points. Another player making a difference was Marshall Summers, who earned 16 points.
Meanwhile, Lincoln County was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They were dealt a 97-61 defeat at the hands of Winfield. Even though they lost, the Panthers' still made a splash on offense and bumped their average scoring up to 50.5 points per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).
Like Cabell Midland, Lincoln County lost despite seeing results from several players. Eli Smith led the charge by going 7 of 14 en route to 17 points. The game was Smith's third in a row with at least ten points. Drew Banks was another key player, going 5 for 10 on his way to 12 points and five boards.
Even though they lost, Lincoln County was working as a unit and finished the game with ten assists. This was only their seventh loss (out of eight games) when they've passed the ball that well.
Lincoln County's loss dropped their record down to 1-10. As for Cabell Midland, they now have a losing record at 6-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Cabell Midland has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Lincoln County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.3 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Cabell Midland didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Lincoln County in their previous matchup back in February of 2016, but they still walked away with a 46-42 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Cabell Midland since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
