The Aiken Fighting Green Hornets will take on the Gray Collegiate Academy War Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Aiken is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Midland Valley: they outscored them in every quarter. Aiken was the clear victor by a 65-43 margin over Midland Valley on Tuesday. Given the Fighting Green Hornets' advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 64th, while the Mustangs are ranked 201st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Aiken got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Malasia Jamison out in front who posted 30 points in addition to seven boards and four steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which Jamison has scored at least a third of Aiken's points. Azaria Sapp was another key player, dropping a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the third road game was the charm for Gray Collegiate Academy, as they earned their first road win of the season. They breezed by South Aiken to the tune of 54-23 on Tuesday.
Aiken better keep an eye on Kadence Walker-Lee. She was instrumental in Gray Collegiate Academy's win, dropping a double-double on 14 points and 11 boards. Walker-Lee is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last four games she's played. Another player making a difference was Diamond Tatum, who scored six points along with six rebounds and five assists.
Gray Collegiate Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as South Aiken only posted one assist.
Gray Collegiate Academy is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.9 points per game. As for Aiken, their win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Aiken has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 40.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Gray Collegiate Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
