East Chicago Central is 9-1 against Hammond Bishop Noll since February of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The East Chicago Central Cardinals are taking a road trip to take on the Hammond Bishop Noll Warriors at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
East Chicago Central is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Cathedral on Saturday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. East Chicago Central took a blow against Cathedral, falling 101-58. While losing is never fun, the Cardinals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 56th, while the Fighting Irish are ranked second).
Dominique Murphy
| 02/15/25 @ Cathedral | 29 |
| 02/11/25 @ Lake Central | 16 |
| 01/30/25 vs Gary West Side | 21 |
| 01/27/25 @ La Lumiere | 20 |
| 01/24/25 vs 21st Century Charter | 30 |
| + 5 more games |
Despite the defeat, East Chicago Central got top-tier performance from Dominique Murphy, who went 11-for-22 on his way to 29 points and eight rebounds. Murphy's evening made it ten games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points. Joseph Watkins was another key player, going 5-for-12 en route to 12 points.
Meanwhile, Hammond Bishop Noll entered their tilt with Highland on Tuesday with three consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with four. They came within six points of losing the streak, but they secured a 73-67 W against the Trojans.
Hammond Bishop Noll's win came from a few key players East Chicago Central will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Khalel Johnson, who posted 18 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Maddux Laurincik, who earned 16 points.
Hammond Bishop Noll pushed their record up to 11-12 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.3 points over those games. As for East Chicago Central, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests, which has put a noticeable dent in their 15-8 record this season.
Friday's game will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Murphy and Johnson. Murphy has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 22.2 points, 8.3 boards, and 1.1 steals on 50.7% shooting. For his part, Johnson has averaged 16.6 points.
East Chicago Central didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Hammond Bishop Noll in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, but they still walked away with a 73-67 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for East Chicago Central since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
