Hamilton Southeastern is 3-0 against Southport since February of 2021, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Hamilton Southeastern Royals will head out on the road to challenge the Southport Cardinals at 7:30 p.m. Hopefully Hamilton Southeastern is not getting complacent considering they own a much higher rank in Indiana (they are ranked 11th, while Southport is ranked 95th).
Last Thursday, Hamilton Southeastern was able to grind out a solid victory over Franklin Central, taking the game 58-46. The win made it back-to-back wins for Hamilton Southeastern.
Hamilton Southeastern relied on the efforts of Nate Orr, who scored 19 points along with two steals, and Braeden Totton, who scored 20 points along with two steals. Totton has been hot recently, having posted 17 or more points the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Donovan Hamilton, who scored six points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Southport sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 51-49 win over Roncalli on Tuesday.
Southport found their leader in underclassman James Kalala, who almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine rebounds. Kalala is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down nine or more in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Michael Johnson, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Hamilton Southeastern is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 13-6 record this season. As for Southport, their win bumped their record up to 7-10.
Saturday's contest will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Hamilton and Johnson. Hamilton has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 14.1 points, 1.7 steals, and 6.9 rebounds. For his part, Johnson has averaged 12.5 points, 1.2 blocks, and 1.3 steals.
Everything went Hamilton Southeastern's way against Southport in their previous meeting back in February of 2023 as Hamilton Southeastern made off with a 63-43 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Hamilton Southeastern since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
