The Mt. Hope Huskies will take on the Toll Gate Titans at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a four-game winning streak alive.
Mt. Hope will bounce into Wednesday's matchup after beating Juanita Sanchez Complex, who they had gone 0-4 against in their four prior meetings. Mt. Hope put the hurt on Juanita Sanchez Complex with a sharp 63-41 victory on Thursday. With that win, the Huskies brought their scoring average up to 51.1 points per game.
Mt. Hope's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Maleaq Roderick led the charge by going 10 of 18 on his way to 22 points along with seven boards and three steals. Roderick continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Lucas Andreozzi, who went 6 of 11 en route to 18 points.
Mt. Hope smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in eight consecutive games.
While Toll Gate didn't have the best season last year (they finished 3-19), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They walked away with a 54-45 victory over Providence Country Day on Monday.
Mt. Hope better keep an eye on Jack Colvin. He was instrumental in Toll Gate's win, putting up 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Brayden Healey, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 13 boards.
Toll Gate's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-2. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.2 points per game. As for Mt. Hope, their victory ended a four-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 6-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Mt. Hope has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 36.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Toll Gate struggles in that department as they've been averaging 40.4 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Mt. Hope lost to Toll Gate on the road by a decisive 69-55 margin in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Toll Gate's Liam Leahy, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 20 points and five assists. Now that Mt. Hope knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
