The Hopewell Titans's game last Thursday was a tough loss, but they didn't let that memory haunt them on Friday. They took their match on the road with ease, bagging a 76-47 victory over Hough. Given Hopewell's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 67th, while Hough is ranked 328th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Leading Hopewell to victory were Julian Mack and Derrick Eley. Mack scored 20 points along with four steals, while Eley scored 14 points along with eight rebounds and seven assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Mack has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Quay Watson, who scored seven points along with eight steals and five assists.
Despite the loss, Hough still got an impressive performance from Blake Desautels, who scored 17 points along with eight rebounds. Another player making a difference was John Slusher, who scored nine points.
Hopewell's victory bumped their record up to 12-3. As for Hough, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-12.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Hopewell won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Lexington at 5:00 p.m. on January 20th. Lexington is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune. As for Hough, they the luxury of staying home another game and will welcome North Mecklenburg at 7:30 p.m. on January 26th. North Mecklenburg has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 1,445 points over their last 17 games.
