The Manning Monarchs's and the Scott's Branch Eagles's match on Friday was close at halftime, but the Manning Monarchs turned on the heat in the second half with 39 points. Everything went Manning's way against Scott's Branch as Manning made off with a 71-51 win. Winning may never get old, but Manning sure is getting used to it with their fifth in a row.
Leading Manning to victory were Jeffrey Ceasar and Tavion Carter. Ceasar dropped a double-double on 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Carter dropped a double-double on 17 points and 20 rebounds. That's the first time this season that Ceasar pulled down eight or more rebounds. Joshua Cooper was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with seven rebounds.
Despite the loss, Scott's Branch still got an impressive performance from Jordan Kind, who scored 26 points. Those 26 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Nigel Lawson, who scored 11 points.
Manning pushed their record up to 10-3 with that win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.5 points per game. As for Scott's Branch, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-6.
Manning won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Wilson Hall at 7:30 p.m. on December 30th. Wilson Hall is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune. As for Scott's Branch, they will look to defend their home court on Saturday against Orangeburg-Wilkinson at 7:00 p.m.
