Even though the Columbus Blue Devils scored an imposing 56 points on Tuesday, the Monroe Golden Tornadoes still came out on top. Monroe snuck past the Blue Devils with a 60-56 win. Given Monroe's advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 16th, while the Blue Devils are ranked 194th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Justin Burns, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 11 rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last nine games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jaquan Maddox, who scored ten points along with six rebounds.
When it comes to explaining why Columbus lost, one person who can't be blamed is Oakley Koontz. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Koontz has scored all season. De'andre Wooten was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with six assists.
Monroe pushed their record up to 16-3 with that win, which was their seventh straight at home. As for Columbus, their loss dropped their record down to 13-7.
Monroe will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. Hopefully Thomasville focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 18 on Wednesday. As for Columbus, they will head out on the road to challenge the Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Carver has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 1,288 points over their last 17 matches.
