The Mid-Carolina Rebels will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Dutch Fork Silver Foxes at 6:05 p.m. on Wednesday. Mid-Carolina will be strutting in after a win while Dutch Fork will be coming in after a loss.
Last Wednesday, Mid-Carolina beat Woodruff 54-44. That looming 54-44 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Mid-Carolina yet this season.
Mid-Carolina can attribute much of their success to Jacob Clark, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 13 rebounds. Those 15 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Connor Cromer, who scored ten points.
Meanwhile, Dutch Fork pushed their score all the way to 61 on Monday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 69-61 hit to the loss column at the hands of Aiken. Even though they lost, Dutch Fork's still made a splash on offense and bumped their average scoring up to 50.8 points per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).
Despite the defeat, Dutch Fork saw an underclassman step up: Jake Bogan scored 15 points along with five rebounds. Those 15 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Justus Bell, who scored 12 points along with nine rebounds and four steals.
Mid-Carolina's win bumped their record up to 4-6. As for Dutch Fork, their loss dropped their record down to 6-6.
Wednesday's game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Mid-Carolina have been dynamite from deep this season, having only nailed 32.9% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Dutch Fork struggles in that department as they've drained 39.9% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Mid-Carolina suffered a grim 75-50 defeat to Dutch Fork when the teams last played back in January of 2021. Thankfully for Mid-Carolina, JT Renner (who scored 13 points along with eight assists and five steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
