After both having extra time off, the Southern Nash Firebirds and the Fike Demons will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 8:00 p.m. on December 27th. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
Southern Nash struggled with three-point shooting accuracy last Friday (Roanoke Rapids was 20% better) and sadly the final score reflected it. Southern Nash took a serious blow against Roanoke Rapids, falling 61-34.
Southern Nash's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Israel Whitaker, who scored 11 points along with eight rebounds and four steals, and George Richardson who scored six points along with six rebounds. The contest was Whitaker's third in a row with at least ten points.
Meanwhile, Fike was beaten by SouthWest Edgecombe 69-42 last Wednesday. Fike was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 37-13.
The losing side was boosted by William Monk, who scored 18 points along with nine rebounds. He scored a full 42.9% of Fike's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Dylan Skinner was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with seven rebounds.
Southern Nash's loss dropped their record down to 5-3. As for Fike, their defeat was their 13th straight on the road dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 1-6.
Wednesday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Southern Nash have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 40.4% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Fike struggles in that department as they've made 42.1% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Southern Nash strolled past Fike when the teams last played back in November of 2022 by a score of 72-53. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Fike's Caleb Willingham, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 16 rebounds. Now that he won't be playing on Wednesday, will it be that much easier for Southern Nash to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
