Carthage and Center are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2019, but not for long. The Carthage Bulldogs will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against the Center Roughriders at 7:30 p.m. The timing isn't great for Carthage: they have been struggling with six straight losses at home dating back to last season, while Center has snatched up three consecutive wins on the road.
Carthage scored the most points they've had all season to find success last Friday. They came out on top against Henderson by a score of 63-56. That looming 63-56 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Carthage yet this season.
Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Center beat Kilgore 56-50 on Friday. Given Center's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 384th, while Kilgore is ranked 942nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Tim Johnson was his usual excellent self, scoring 23 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Emonte Cross was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with four steals.
Carthage's win ended a four-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-10. As for Center, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a massive bump to their 13-8 record this season.
Things could have been worse for Carthage, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 60-42 loss to Center when the teams last played back in February of 2023. Can Carthage avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
