The South Garner Titans will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the West Johnston Wildcats at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Hopefully South Garner focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up eight on Wednesday.
Even though South Garner has not done well against Broughton recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way. South Garner had just enough and edged Broughton out 36-33. Given South Garner's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 95th, while Broughton is ranked 373rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
South Garner got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Najai Hines out in front who scored eight points along with 17 rebounds and three blocks. Hines is absolutely dominating the rebound category: he's posted at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Zyier Hines, who scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, West Johnston's recent rough patch got a bit rougher two weeks ago after their fourth straight loss. They took a hard 64-47 fall against Fike. That's two games in a row now that West Johnston has lost by exactly 17 points.
The losing side was boosted by Kameron Taylor, who scored 14 points. The game was his sixth in a row with at least ten points. Malaki Baker was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with six rebounds.
South Garner's win bumped their record up to 6-2. As for West Johnston, they have traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost five of their last six matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-5 record this season.
South Garner came up short against West Johnston when the teams last played back in December of 2022, falling 60-54. Can South Garner avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
