The Hoggard Vikings will square off against the Laney Buccaneers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Laney is hoping to do what Topsail couldn't on Tuesday: put an end to Hoggard's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Hoggard really took it to Topsail for the full four quarters, racking up an 83-43 victory. The Vikings have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matches by 20 points or more this season.
| 01/07/25 vs Topsail | 2 |
| 01/03/25 @ Ashley | 2 |
| 12/30/24 vs First Flight | 3 |
Hoggard's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Hunter McGrath, who went 5 of 8 en route to 14 points, and Will Seward, who went 8 for 13 on his way to 21 points. McGrath is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Aidan Locklear was another key player, going 5 for 7 on his way to 11 points.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Laney). They claimed a resounding 81-23 win over South Brunswick. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 37-17.
Laney's win came from a few key players Hoggard will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Trenton Hall, who went 6 of 7 on his way to 15 points and three steals. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Mosley, who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine rebounds.
Laney smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in five consecutive games.
Laney's victory bumped their record up to 8-4. As for Hoggard, their win bumped their record up to 11-2.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Hoggard hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 68.8 points per game. However, it's not like Laney struggles in that department as they've been averaging 58.8 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Hoggard couldn't quite finish off Laney in their previous meeting back in January of 2024 and fell 57-55. Can Hoggard avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
