Basketball Game Preview: Cross Keys Phoenix vs. Cottage Cougars

Cross Keys and Cottage are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2019, but not for long. The Cross Keys Phoenix will head out on the road to challenge the Cottage Cougars at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Cross Keys is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 53.8 points per game this season.

Having struggled with three defeats in a row, Cross Keys turned things around against Varsity Opponent on Tuesday. They breezed by Varsity Opponent to the tune of 66-30.

Dre Tucker was his usual excellent self, putting up 20 points and six steals. His evening made it 15 games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Christian Holmes, who posted 15 points in addition to five rebounds and five steals.

Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 72-32, which was the final score in Cottage's tilt against Varsity Opponent on Wednesday. The loss continues a trend for the Cougars in their matchups with Varsity Opponent: they've now lost four in a row.

Cross Keys' win bumped their record up to 10-7. As for Cottage, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-9.

Cross Keys was able to grind out a solid victory over Cottage in their previous meeting back in November of 2024, winning 49-37. The rematch might be a little tougher for Cross Keys since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.