The Chapman Panthers will be playing at home against the Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Chapman will be looking to keep their three-game home win streak alive.
Last Tuesday, Chapman was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 50-45 to Travelers Rest. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Chapman in their matchups with Travelers Rest: they've now lost three in a row.
Despite the loss, Chapman had strong showings from Hawken Smith, who scored seven points along with five rebounds, and Rashawn Cunningham, who scored 15 points along with eight rebounds and two steals. Cunningham hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games.
Chapman struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Blue Ridge aren't just finding sucess at home, as their game on Wednesday extended their overall winning streak to three. They came out on top against Broome by a score of 60-48.
Chapman's loss dropped their record down to 8-8. As for Blue Ridge, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 7-12 record this season.
Chapman came up short against Blue Ridge in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, falling 65-59. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Blue Ridge's Nash Somero, who went 9 for 20 from beyond the arc en route to 43 points and 2 assists. Now that Chapman knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
