The R.J. Reynolds Demons will head out on the road to challenge the Davie War Eagles at 7:45 p.m. on Friday. R.J. Reynolds will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps North Carolina Rankings (they are ranked 221st, while Davie is ranked 25th).
Last Wednesday, R.J. Reynolds was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 58-52 to Reagan.
R.J. Reynolds' defeat came about despite a quality game from Antoine Jones Jr., who scored 27 points along with four steals. Jones Jr. has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last nine times he's played. Another player making a difference was Kingston Carmichael, who scored 11 points.
R.J. Reynolds struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Davie put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with a 72-64 win over Parkland. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Davie to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jackson Powers, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds. Powers is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last six games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Ratledge, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
R.J. Reynolds has not been sharp recently, as they've lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-7 record this season. As for Davie, they pushed their record up to 14-0 with that win, which was their sixth straight at home.
R.J. Reynolds suffered a grim 56-36 defeat to Davie in their previous matchup back in January of 2023. Can R.J. Reynolds avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
