After both having extra time off, the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders and the Charlotte Fightin' Tarpons will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court one another at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a 12-game winning streak alive.
St. Thomas Aquinas is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup last Thursday. They came out on top against Coral Springs by a score of 62-54. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked third, while the Colts are ranked 53rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Dwayne Wimbley Jr. continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, shooting 69% from the field on his way to 24 points and seven boards. What's more, he also posted an 80% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest he's achieved since back in December of 2024. Drake (DJ) Sandi was another key player, putting up nine points in addition to eight assists and three steals.
Meanwhile, Charlotte didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Wharton last Thursday, but they still walked away with a 64-60 win.
Charlotte's win came from a few key players St. Thomas Aquinas will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Dior Evans, who went 8-for-12 en route to 17 points. Another player making a difference was Khrye Ellis, who shot 50% from the field to rack up 12 points and seven rebounds.
Charlotte's victory bumped their record up to 22-6. As for St. Thomas Aquinas, their win bumped their record up to 28-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: St. Thomas Aquinas has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 32.3 boards per game. However, it's not like Charlotte struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
