Winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 11 to 4 on the offensive boards, a fact the Northwood Chargers proved on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Richmond 56-53. The win made it back-to-back wins for Northwood.
It was another big night for Drake Powell, who dropped a double-double on 30 points and 12 rebounds. The contest was his ninth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Fred Whitaker, who scored 14 points.
When it comes to explaining why Richmond lost, one person who can't be blamed is Paul McNeil Jr.. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 24 points and 11 rebounds. McNeil Jr. scored a full 45.3% of Richmond's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Jamarion Wall was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with five rebounds.
Richmond struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Northwood's win bumped their record up to 8-1. As for Richmond, their loss dropped their record down to 7-3.
Northwood and Reidsville will face off at 6:30 p.m. on December 30, 2023 without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. One thing working in Reidsville's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season. Richmond won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Cannon at 12:30 p.m. on December 30, 2023. Cannon has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 1,405 points over their last 19 contests.
