Ashley hasn't had much luck against New Hanover recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Ashley Screaming Eagle will take on the New Hanover Wildcats at 8:00 p.m. Ashley is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 53.1 points per game this season.
Having struggled with five losses in a row, Ashley turned things around against West Brunswick on Tuesday. They snuck past the Trojans with a 47-42 victory.
| 12/12/23 @ South Brunswick | 5 |
| 01/30/24 vs South Brunswick | 5 |
| 12/08/23 vs Cardinal Gibbons | 5 |
| 11/21/23 vs Coastal Christian | 5 |
| 01/07/25 vs West Brunswick | 4 |
Quinn Bentley had a dynamite game for Ashley, going 7 for 16 on his way to 16 points and three steals. What's more, Bentley also racked up four rebounds, the most he's had since back in January of 2024. Avery Saffo was another key player, putting up eight points.
Meanwhile, New Hanover waltzed into their game on Tuesday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They really took it to the Scorpions for the full four quarters, racking up an 88-61 win. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 26 points or more this season.
New Hanover's win came from a few key players Ashley will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Rodmik Allen, who went 6 of 13 on his way to 14 points along with six assists and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Zeus Batts, who went 6 for 11 on his way to 14 points in addition to six assists and six steals.
New Hanover smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in 12 consecutive matchups.
New Hanover has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-2 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 80.9 points per game. As for Ashley, their victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 6-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Ashley has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 27.2 boards per game. However, it's not like New Hanover struggles in that department as they've been averaging 35.1 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Ashley was taken down by New Hanover 77-37 when the teams last played back in January of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Allen, who went 8 of 12 on his way to 18 points and four steals. Now that Ashley knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
