Basketball Game Preview: Chopticon Braves vs. Lackey Chargers

Chopticon hasn't had much luck against Lackey recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Chopticon Braves will welcome the Lackey Chargers at 6:30 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Last Friday, Chopticon was able to grind out a solid win over Westlake, taking the game 60-50.

Chopticon's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Brian McMahon led the charge by putting up 12 points and six rebounds. McMahon has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last five times he's played. Bryson Fenwick was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on 11 points and nine boards.

Chopticon was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Westlake only posted nine assists.

Meanwhile, Lackey had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.2 points) and they went ahead and made it seven on Wednesday. They took down the Cougars 61-43. Given the Chargers' advantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 49th, while the Cougars are ranked 227th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Lackey pushed their record up to 13-2 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.4 points per game. As for Chopticon, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-7 record this season.

Everything came up roses for Chopticon against Lackey in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, as the squad secured a 75-48 win. Will Chopticon repeat their success, or does Lackey have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.