Hawthorne is 8-2 against Newberry since December of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Hawthorne Hornets will take on the Newberry Panthers at TBD. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Hawthorne had no problem doing just that on Wednesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Bulldogs 78-17 on the road. The victory was nothing new for Hawthorne as they're now sitting on 14 straight.
Meanwhile, Newberry was fully in charge on Wednesday, breezing past Fort White 79-48 on the road. Given Newberry's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 198th, while Fort White is ranked 462nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hawthorne's victory bumped their record up to 17-3. As for Newberry, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 15-7.
Hawthorne took their victory against Newberry when the teams last played back in February of 2023 by a conclusive 80-55. Does Hawthorne have another victory up their sleeve, or will Newberry turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
