Dorman has been on the road for seven straight, but on Monday they'll finally head home. They will be home for the holidays to greet the J.L. Mann Patriots at 6:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Dorman's and Blacksburg's contest two weeks ago was close at halftime, but Dorman turned on the heat in the second half with 41 points. Dorman put the hurt on Blacksburg with a sharp 65-43 victory. Given Dorman's advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while Blacksburg is ranked 168th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Dorman got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Kimora Evans out in front who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten steals. That's the first time this season that Evans scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Nevaeh West, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, J.L. Mann had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They blew past Greenville 45-20.
J.L. Mann found their leader in underclassman Jade Hailstock, who scored 15 points along with six steals. That's the first time this season that Hailstock scored 15 or more points. Another player making a difference was Anaya Dillard, who scored seven points.
Dorman pushed their record up to 5-2 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.0 points per game. As for J.L. Mann, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season.
Monday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Dorman have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 34.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like J.L. Mann struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 30.2 rebounds per game. Given Dorman's sizeable advantage in that area, J.L. Mann will need to find a way to close that gap.
Dorman was able to grind out a solid win over J.L. Mann in their previous matchup back in January of 2021, winning 68-60. Will Dorman repeat their success, or does J.L. Mann have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
