Southern Fulton has played every game this season on their home court, but they'll have to hit the road on Saturday. They just played last night, but they'll still head out to face the Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs at 4:45 p.m. on December 16th. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up seven more assists than your opponent, a fact Southern Fulton proved on Friday. They really took it to Northern Bedford County for the full four quarters, racking up a 57-28 win at home. That looming 57-28 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Southern Fulton yet this season.
Ethan Mellott was his usual excellent self, scoring 15 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. The contest was his third in a row with at least ten points. Hunter Ward was another key contributor, scoring 13 points.
Even though Claysburg-Kimmel has not done well against Southern Huntingdon County recently (they were 0-5 in their previous five matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Claysburg-Kimmel blew past Southern Huntingdon County 49-26. Given Claysburg-Kimmel's advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 132nd, while Southern Huntingdon County is ranked 295th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Claysburg-Kimmel found their leader in underclassman Brayden Haney, who scored 20 points. Haney is absolutely dominating the steal category: he's posted at least two every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Elias Ritchey, who scored seven points along with five assists and four steals.
Southern Fulton pushed their record up to 3-1 with that win, which was their third straight at home. As for Claysburg-Kimmel, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 3-1.
Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's match: Southern Fulton have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 4.5 threes per game. It's a different story for Claysburg-Kimmel, though, as they've been averaging only 4.2 threes per game. Given Southern Fulton's sizeable advantage in that area, Claysburg-Kimmel will need to find a way to close that gap.
Southern Fulton took their win against Claysburg-Kimmel in their previous matchup back in January by a conclusive 62-42. The rematch might be a little tougher for Southern Fulton since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
