Mercer hasn't had much luck against Grundy County/Newtown-Harris recently, but that could start to change on Friday. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Mercer Cardinals take on the Grundy County/Newtown-Harris Panthers at 7:00 p.m.
Mercer is headed into Friday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Tuesday. They came up short against Gilman City, falling 67-45.
Meanwhile, Grundy County/Newtown-Harris waltzed into their contest on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They claimed a resounding 53-22 win over the Bobcats. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Panthers had established a 29 point advantage.
Grundy County/Newtown-Harris had a senior duo take command as Hunter Miller dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds and Kaleb Bower dropped a double-double on 13 points and ten boards. That makes it ten consecutive games in which Miller has scored at least a third of Grundy County/Newtown-Harris' points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mason Rayl, who posted five points and six rebounds.
Grundy County/Newtown-Harris smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 24 offensive boards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive board total in four consecutive matchups.
Grundy County/Newtown-Harris' victory was their 11th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-6. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.5 points per game. As for Mercer, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-7.
Mercer might still be hurting after the 50-27 loss they got from Grundy County/Newtown-Harris in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. Can Mercer avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
