After both having extra time off, the Fike Demons and the Southern Nash Firebirds will dust off their jerseys to take on one another at 8:00 p.m. on December 27th. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around on Wednesday.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 69-42, which was the final score in Fike's tilt against SouthWest Edgecombe last Wednesday. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Fike has scored all season.
Fike's loss came about despite a quality game from William Monk, who scored 18 points along with nine rebounds. Monk scored a full 42.9% of Fike's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Dylan Skinner, who scored ten points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Southern Nash struggled with three-point shooting accuracy last Friday (Roanoke Rapids was 20% better) and sadly the final score reflected it. Southern Nash took a serious blow against Roanoke Rapids, falling 61-34.
The match pitted two dominant players against one another in Israel Whitaker and Darren Solomon. Solomon had a great game and dropped a double-double on 15 points and 13 rebounds. Meanwhile, Whitaker did his best for the losing side, scoring 11 points along with eight rebounds and four steals.
Fike bumped their record down to 1-6 with that loss, which was their 13th straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Southern Nash, their loss dropped their record down to 5-3.
Wednesday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: Fike have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 31.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Southern Nash struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 33.4 rebounds per game. Given Fike's sizeable advantage in that area, Southern Nash will need to find a way to close that gap.
Fike lost to Southern Nash at home by a decisive 72-53 margin in their previous matchup back in November of 2022. Will Fike have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
