Southwest hadn't done well against Dublin recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. The Southwest Patriots came out on top in a nail-biter against the Dublin Fighting Irish, sneaking past 79-76. With that victory, the Patriots brought their scoring average up to 50.5 points per game.
C.J. Howard
| 02/15/25 @ Dublin | 25 |
| 01/18/25 @ Westside | 23 |
| 01/03/25 vs Dodge County | 20 |
| 12/13/24 @ Dublin | 20 |
| 12/28/24 @ Jones County | 19 |
Southwest got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was C.J. Howard out in front who went 9-for-22 en route to 25 points in addition to five boards and four steals. Those 25 points gave Howard a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Chase Dupree, who almost dropped a double-double with 24 points and nine rebounds.
Several Fighting Irish players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Aj Johnson, who dropped a double-double with 31 points and ten boards. With that strong performance, Johnson is now averaging an impressive 15.2 points per game. Tristian Bell was another key player, going 8-for-14 on his way to 19 points along with eight assists and eight rebounds.
Southwest is on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 15 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 23-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.8 points over those games. As for Dublin, their loss dropped their record down to 21-5.
Southwest and Dublin should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps Georgia Rankings. Southwest (ranked 50th) will meet Bacon County (ranked 354th) on Wednesday. Southwest is looking to tack on another W to their seven-game streak on the road. Similarly, Dublin will face off against Heard County at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday up 206 places (128 vs. 334).
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
