The Southern Fulton Indians will head out to face off against the McConnellsburg Spartans at 7:15 p.m. on Friday.
Last Tuesday, Southern Fulton was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 54-49 to Berkeley Springs. While losing is never fun, Southern Fulton can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 539th in Pennsylvania, while Berkeley Springs is ranked 59th in West Virginia).
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Sam Stotler, who posted 17 points and five assists. Another player making a difference was Trentin Cain, who had 15 points.
Meanwhile, McConnellsburg waltzed into their match on Wednesday with nine straight wins... but they left with ten. They really took it to Fannett Metal for the full four quarters, racking up a 90-31 win. With the Spartans ahead 50-13 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
McConnellsburg's win came from a few key players Southern Fulton will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Brayden Ramsey, who dropped a double-double on 31 points and ten assists. That's the most assists he has posted since back in December of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Dominic Jefferson, who went 9 for 16 en route to 20 points in addition to eight rebounds and six assists.
McConnellsburg pushed their record up to 11-1 with the victory, which was their 14th straight on the road dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.6 points per game. As for Southern Fulton, they have been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-8 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Southern Fulton has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 21.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like McConnellsburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Southern Fulton might still be hurting after the 53-30 defeat they got from McConnellsburg when the teams last played back in February of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Jefferson, who went 8 of 16 on his way to 24 points and three steals. Now that Southern Fulton knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
