Hammond Central has been on the road for three straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will be home for the holidays to greet the 21st Century Charter COUGARS at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the pair will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Tuesday, everything went Hammond Central's way against Lighthouse College Prep Academy as Hammond Central made off with a 67-41 win. That 67-41 margin sets a new team best for Hammond Central this season.
Hammond Central got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Gregory Dotson out in front who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 assists. That's the first time this season that Dotson posted eight or more assists. Marcus Browder was another key contributor, scoring 18 points along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Meanwhile, 21st Century Charter fought the good fight in their overtime match against Valparaiso on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell to the Vikings 68-64. While losing is never fun, 21st Century Charter can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 248th, while Valparaiso is ranked 57th).
21st Century Charter's loss came about despite a quality game from Lemetrius "Meachy" Williams, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds. Williams is absolutely dominating the rebound category: he's posted at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Ron Mosely, who scored 11 points.
Even though they lost, 21st Century Charter were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Valparaiso only pulled down 11 offensive rebounds.
The victory got Hammond Central back to even at 4-4. As for 21st Century Charter, they now have a losing record at 2-3.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Hammond Central hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 61.4 points per game. It's a different story for 21st Century Charter, though, as they've been averaging only 66.8 points per game. The only thing between Hammond Central and another offensive beatdown is 21st Century Charter. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Hammond Central was able to grind out a solid victory over 21st Century Charter in their previous matchup back in December of 2022, winning 81-73. Will Hammond Central repeat their success, or does 21st Century Charter have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
