Hammond Central has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Gary West Side Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. One thing working in Hammond Central's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three matchups.
Even though Valparaiso scored an imposing 56 points on Friday, Hammond Central still came out on top. Hammond Central narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Valparaiso 59-56. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win Hammond Central has posted since December 15, 2023.
Hammond Central's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Da'shawn Woods, who scored 17 points along with five steals, and Marcus Browder, who scored 27 points along with four steals and two blocks. Browder has been hot recently, having posted 17 or more points the last eight times he's played. Another player making a difference was Gregory Dotson, who scored eight points along with six assists and two blocks.
Meanwhile, Gary West Side ended up a good deal behind Hammond Bishop Noll on Thursday and lost 57-41.
Hammond Central pushed their record up to 9-11 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.3 points per game. As for Gary West Side, their loss ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 13-8.
Hammond Central came up short against Gary West Side in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 65-59. Can Hammond Central avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
