The Westover Patriots will square off against the Monroe Golden Tornadoes at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Westover sitting on five straight victories and Monroe on four.
Last Monday, in a tight game that could have gone either way, Westover made off with a 41-40 win over Bible Baptist Christian. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 48th, while the Wolves are ranked 207th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Westover to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jalen Holmes, who posted 11 points. Jaxon Reese was another key player, putting up three points in addition to five assists and five boards.
Westover smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in six consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Monroe strolled past Terrell County with points to spare on Saturday, taking the game 69-53. The Golden Tornadoes pushed the score to 57-35 by the end of the third, a deficit the Greenwave cut but never quite recovered from.
Monroe's win came from a few key players Westover will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Brayden Burns, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 13 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in steals (five). Another player making a difference was Nehemiah Tinch, who went 6 of 9 on his way to 17 points and six boards.
Monroe pushed their record up to 12-8 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.7 points per game. As for Westover, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-4 record this season.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Westover and Monroe are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Westover hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 57.9 points per game. However, it's not like Monroe struggles in that department as they've been averaging 61.2 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Westover couldn't quite finish off Monroe when the teams last played on January 10th and fell 41-39. Will Westover have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
