The Wickliffe Blue Devils will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Crestwood Red Devils at 6:45 p.m. Wickliffe will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Ohio Rankings (they are ranked 720th, while Crestwood is ranked 194th).
Last Friday, Wickliffe was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 48-42 to Berkshire. Wickliffe has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Meanwhile, Crestwood came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.2 points) and they left with even more momentum. They enjoyed a cozy 75-58 win over Orange. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Dekota Johnson continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 30 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. He hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. Brody Durham was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 11 points and ten assists.
Wickliffe has not been sharp recently as the team's lost five of their last six contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-12 record this season. As for Crestwood, their victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-2.
Wickliffe was dealt a bruising 74-47 defeat at the hands of Crestwood when the teams last played back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Crestwood's Charlie Schweickert, who went 7 for 12 from beyond the arc en route to 25 points and 2 assists. Now that Wickliffe knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
