Hattiesburg and Laurel are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2016, but not for long. The Hattiesburg Tigers will look to defend their home court on Thursday against the Laurel Golden Tornadoes at 7:30 p.m. Hattiesburg will be strutting in after a victory while Laurel will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Tuesday, Hattiesburg earned a 40-30 win over South Pike. Given Hattiesburg's advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi basketball rankings (they are ranked eighth, while South Pike is ranked 193rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hattiesburg had a senior duo take command as Stephen McCullon Jr. scored 14 points along with 6 steals and Logan Burns dropped a double-double on 10 points and 12 rebounds. The matchup was McCullon Jr.'s seventh in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Chris Moody, who scored 7 points along with 3 steals.
Meanwhile, Laurel's recent rough patch got a bit rougher last Tuesday after their third straight loss. The matchup between Laurel and Petal wasn't particularly close, with Laurel falling 63-46.
Hattiesburg pushed their record up to 6-1 with that victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. As for Laurel, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.
Hattiesburg beat Laurel 69-56 in their previous matchup back in February. Does Hattiesburg have another victory up their sleeve, or will Laurel turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
