Two dominant guards in Cal Pass Jr. and Jaleel Smith are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Crest Chargers will host the Huss Huskies at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Crest's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last 13 matchups.
Crest is headed into the contest having just posted their closest victory since December 26, 2024 on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Forestview 73-70. Given the Chargers' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 58th, while the Jaguars are ranked 326th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Huss). They claimed a resounding 92-55 victory over North Gaston. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Huskies had established a 22 point advantage.
Crest better focus on containing Zaiyir 'Zii' Phillips and Smith as the pair were huge in Huss' win. Phillips went 13 for 21 en route to 35 points in addition to seven assists and three steals, while Smith went 8 of 14 on his way to 20 points along with seven rebounds and seven steals. Smith is crushing it when it comes to steals: he's grabbed at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Antonio Griggs Jr., who posted nine points along with seven boards and five assists.
Huss smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in five consecutive matches.
Huss has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.2 points per game. As for Crest, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-2.
Crest beat Huss 66-59 when the teams last played on January 7th. Will Crest repeat their success, or does Huss have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
