Preview: Alexandria City Titans vs. John Marshall Justices
Alexandria City has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the John Marshall Justices at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Alexandria City's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three contests.
Even though South County scored an imposing 55 points on Thursday, Alexandria City still came out on top. Alexandria City snuck past South County with a 59-55 victory. Given Alexandria City's advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 13th, while South County is ranked 75th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Alexandria City relied on the efforts of Kye Robinson, who scored 20 points along with six rebounds and three steals, and Darius Bivins, who scored 24 points along with four steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Bivins has scored all season. Tarik Sesay was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with two steals.
John Marshall suffered their closest defeat yet this season last Friday. They fell just short of St. Christopher's by a score of 53-50. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points John Marshall has scored all season.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Damon Thompson Jr, who scored 20 points. Another player making a difference was Aiden Argabright, who scored 12 points.
Alexandria City's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-2. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.3 points per game. As for John Marshall, their loss dropped their record down to 9-3.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Alexandria City have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 26.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like John Marshall struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 32.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
