Two dominant players in Nathan Doll and Miles Caviness are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Caledonia-Mumford Raiders will finish 2023 at home by hosting the Gananda Central Blue Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, Caledonia-Mumford got the win against Perry by a conclusive 44-24. Despite the victory, that was the fewest points Caledonia-Mumford has scored all year.
Caledonia-Mumford had a senior duo take command as Donny Peet scored 16 points along with three steals and Doll dropped a double-double on 11 points and 14 rebounds. The match was Doll's sixth in a row with at least ten points.
Gananda Central has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 20 points or more this season. They blew past Williamson 69-42 on the road. Given Gananda Central's advantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 177th, while Williamson is ranked 436th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Gananda Central got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Cooper Grassel out in front who scored 20 points. The game was Grassel's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Caviness, who scored 20 points.
The victory got Caledonia-Mumford back to even at 3-3. As for Gananda Central, they pushed their record up to 6-2 with that win, which was their fourth straight on the road.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Caledonia-Mumford hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 57 points per game. It's a different story for Gananda Central, though, as they've been averaging only 60.8 points per game. The only thing between Caledonia-Mumford and another offensive beatdown is Gananda Central. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Caledonia-Mumford came up short against Gananda Central when the teams last played back in December of 2022, falling 85-74. Can Caledonia-Mumford avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.