Central and Jay are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2020, but not for long. The Central Jaguars will square off against the Jay Royals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Even though Central has not done well against Paxton recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Central managed a 51-47 victory over Paxton. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Central.
Central found their leader in underclassman Lakin Mathews, who scored 32 points along with five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Lily Mathews, who scored seven points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Jay had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They secured a 61-57 W over Freeport on Wednesday. The win was familiar territory for Jay who now have three in a row.
Central is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 15-10 record this season. As for Jay, their win bumped their record up to 19-4.
Central was able to grind out a solid victory over Jay in their previous meeting two weeks ago, winning 62-52. The rematch might be a little tougher for Central since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
