The Jackson Aggies will be playing in front of their home fans against the Escambia County Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Jackson will be looking to keep their 25-game home win streak (dating back to last season) alive.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Jackson had no problem doing just that on Monday. They claimed a resounding 75-20 win over the Gators at home. Jackson has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 12 contests by 21 points or more this season.
Jackson relied on the efforts of Keeyun Chapman, who scored 12 points along with eight rebounds and four steals, and Landon Duckworth, who scored 16 points along with five steals. Chapman is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted three or more in the last five games he's played. Micah Caster was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Escambia County didn't have too much trouble with T.R. Miller at home on Monday as they won 52-33. Given Escambia County's advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 135th, while T.R. Miller is ranked 297th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Stephen Williams continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 16 points and 13 rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last 11 games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Cleo Bolar jr., who scored 11 points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Jackson's win bumped their record up to 23-2. As for Escambia County, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season.
Wednesday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Jackson have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 47% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Escambia County struggles in that department as they've made 45.2% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Jackson strolled past Escambia County when the teams last played two weeks ago by a score of 63-45. Will Jackson repeat their success, or does Escambia County have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
