Monroe Central is 2-8 against Wapahani since February of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Monroe Central Golden Bears will face off against the Wapahani Raiders at 7:30 p.m. One thing working in Monroe Central's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five matches.
Monroe Central is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing South Adams: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Monroe Central blew South Adams out of the water with a 67-31 final score. Given the Golden Bears' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 174th, while the Starfires are ranked 376th), the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Easton Foster
| 02/11/25 vs South Adams | 10 |
| 02/06/25 @ Union | 10 |
| 02/01/25 @ New Castle | 10 |
| 01/31/25 vs Blue River Valley | 11 |
| 01/25/25 @ Blackford | 9 |
| + 10 more games |
Easton Foster continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double with 22 points and ten rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to boards, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last 15 games he's played. Another player making a difference was Luke Morgan, who posted ten points and four steals.
Meanwhile, Wapahani had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They came within six points of losing the streak, but they secured a 49-43 W against the Royals.
Wapahani's win came from a few key players Monroe Central will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Nate Luce, who dropped a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Those 11 boards gave him a new career-high. Eli Andrews was another key player, going 5-for-10 on his way to 13 points.
Wapahani's victory was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 17-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.2 points over those games. As for Monroe Central, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Monroe Central has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Wapahani struggles in that department as they've been averaging 22.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Monroe Central was dealt a bruising 59-26 loss at the hands of Wapahani in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Thankfully for Monroe Central, Isaac Andrews (who went 9-for-14 to rack up 25 points and seven rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
