Murphy is 1-9 against McGill-Toolen since February of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Murphy Panthers will look to defend their home court against the McGill-Toolen Yellowjackets at 7:00 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Murphy had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Blount and snuck past 39-36. Despite the win, that was the fewest points Murphy has scored all season.
Murphy found their leader in underclassman Kinley Simmons, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Cordairus Dixon, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, McGill-Toolen was able to grind out a solid victory over Spanish Fort on Friday, taking the game 60-49. Given McGill-Toolen's advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 41st, while Spanish Fort is ranked 151st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Murphy is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-7 record this season. As for McGill-Toolen, their win bumped their record up to 16-6.
Murphy was able to grind out a solid win over McGill-Toolen in their previous matchup back in November of 2023, winning 60-47. Does Murphy have another victory up their sleeve, or will McGill-Toolen turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
