The Choctaw Central Warriors came tearing into Friday's contest with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11 points) and they left with even more momentum. They walked away with a 75-64 victory over Northeast Lauderdale. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Despite the loss, Northeast Lauderdale still got an impressive performance from Jeremiah Clark, who scored 15 points along with five assists and two steals. Clark hasn't dropped below two steals for eight straight games. Another player making a difference was Steven Lightsey, who scored 15 points along with six rebounds.
Choctaw Central is on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 14 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 17-5-1 record this season. As for Northeast Lauderdale, their defeat dropped their record down to 14-5.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Choctaw Central will square off against Newton County at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Newton County will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Mississippi Rankings (they are ranked 113th, while Choctaw Central is ranked ninth). Northeast Lauderdale won't have much time to rest: their next game is against West Lauderdale at 5:30 p.m. on January 20th. West Lauderdale knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past four contests -- so hopefully Northeast Lauderdale likes a good challenge.
