The Center Roughriders will be playing in front of their home fans against the Carthage Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Center knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past 17 matchups -- so hopefully Carthage likes a good challenge.
Center put the finishing touches on their ninth blowout victory of the season on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Kilgore with a sharp 61-37 win. Given Center's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 400th, while Kilgore is ranked 823rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Center to victory, but perhaps none more so than Tim Johnson, who scored 19 points along with two steals. Johnson is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Jimmarion (Ja) Smith was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Carthage suffered a rough 60-40 defeat at the hands of Kilgore on Friday.
Center is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten contests, which provided a nice bump to their 18-9 record this season. As for Carthage, their loss was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 3-16.
Everything came up roses for Center against Carthage in their previous meeting back in January as the team secured a 81-33 victory. With Center ahead 51-18 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
