After five games on the road, Cardinal Newman is heading back home. They will take on the Porter-Gaud Cyclones at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, Cardinal Newman was able to grind out a solid victory over Hammond, taking the game 49-42.
Cardinal Newman's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Josiah Peeples, who scored 17 points along with two steals. Another player making a difference was Elton Smith jr., who scored six points along with six assists and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Porter-Gaud had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20.3 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They walked away with a 59-52 victory over First Baptist School. Given Porter-Gaud's advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 21st, while First Baptist School is ranked 129th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Cardinal Newman pushed their record up to 11-13 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road. As for Porter-Gaud, their victory bumped their record up to 15-3.
Cardinal Newman beat Porter-Gaud 61-48 in their previous meeting back in January of 2023. Does Cardinal Newman have another victory up their sleeve, or will Porter-Gaud turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
