The Indianapolis Metropolitan Pumas and the Mooresville Pioneers will face off at 12:00 p.m. on December 28th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Indianapolis Metropolitan knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past five contests -- so hopefully Mooresville likes a good challenge.
Even though Owen Valley scored an imposing 58 points on Wednesday, Indianapolis Metropolitan still came out on top. Indianapolis Metropolitan sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 60-58 win over Owen Valley. The win was just what Indianapolis Metropolitan needed coming off of a 101-80 loss in their prior match.
Indianapolis Metropolitan's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Tareek Galadima, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 assists. The contest was Galadima's eighth in a row with at least ten points. Landon Petty was another key contributor, scoring 14 points.
Meanwhile, Mooresville scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Thursday. They walked away with a 73-64 victory over Monrovia. That 73-64 margin sets a new team best for Mooresville this season.
Mooresville got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Aj Defur out in front who scored 22 points along with seven rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which Defur has scored at least 25% of Mooresville's points. Another player making a difference was Tyronne Elmore, who scored 19 points.
Indianapolis Metropolitan's win bumped their record up to 4-5. As for Mooresville, their win bumped their record up to 3-6.
Thursday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Indianapolis Metropolitan have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 27.2 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Mooresville, though, as they've been averaging only 17.3 rebounds per game. Given Indianapolis Metropolitan's sizeable advantage in that area, Mooresville will need to find a way to close that gap.
Indianapolis Metropolitan didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Mooresville when the teams last played back in December of 2022, but they still walked away with a 46-41 win. Will Indianapolis Metropolitan repeat their success, or does Mooresville have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
