Basketball Preview: Alexander Cougars vs. Langston Hughes Panthers
Alexander and the Panthers are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2017, but not for long. The Alexander Cougars will head out on the road to square off against the Langston Hughes Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Alexander comes in on eight and the Panthers on five.
Last Friday, Alexander made easy work of the Raiders and carried off a 71-47 victory. Given Alexander's advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked fifth, while the Raiders are ranked 283rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Alexander's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Braedan Lue, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Gregory Dunson, who scored 13 points along with six assists and two steals. Jermaine Freeman was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, even though St. Francis scored an imposing 57 points on Saturday, Langston Hughes still came out on top. Langston Hughes enjoyed a cozy 76-57 win over the Knights.
Alexander's victory was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 21-2. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.4 points per game. As for Langston Hughes, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season.
Everything came up roses for Alexander against the Panthers in their previous meeting back in January as the squad secured a 85-53 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Alexander since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
