Two dominant players in Parker Kines and Mason Dobie are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Wheatmore Warriors's road trip will continue as they head out to face the First Flight Nighthawks at 3:30 p.m. on December 28th. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around on Thursday.
Wheatmore struggled with assists on Tuesday (Trinity had 12 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Wheatmore had to suffer through a rough 71-38 loss at the hands of Trinity. Wheatmore has not had much luck with Trinity recently, as the team's come up short the last six times they've met.
Despite the loss, Wheatmore had strong showings from Finley Bryant, who scored four points along with eight rebounds and three steals, and Gavin Strickland, who scored 13 points. Bryant also posted two blocks for the first time this season. Another player making a difference was Connor Gordon, who scored four points.
Meanwhile, First Flight was beaten by Northeastern 82-46 last Friday. First Flight was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 41-13.
First Flight's defeat came about despite a quality game from Dobie, who scored 12 points. Dobie scored a full 26.1% of First Flight's points, the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Brayton Heath was another key contributor, scoring seven points.
Wheatmore's defeat was their 11th straight on the road dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 1-9. As for First Flight, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-5 record this season.
Thursday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: Wheatmore have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 25.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like First Flight struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 24 rebounds per game. Given Wheatmore's sizeable advantage in that area, First Flight will need to find a way to close that gap.
Wheatmore couldn't quite finish off First Flight in their previous meeting back in February of 2020 and fell 80-77. Thankfully for Wheatmore, Jordan High (who scored 30 points) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
