Hawthorne is 10-0 against Newberry since February of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Hawthorne Hornets will face off against the Newberry Panthers at 7:30 p.m. Hawthorne is coming into the game hot, having won their last 11 games.
With a playoff game on the line, Hawthorne rose to the challenge on Thursday. They walked away with a 69-57 victory over the Indians. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
CJ Ingram was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 30 points and 13 rebounds. He hasn't dropped below two steals for 13 straight games. Darian Bowie was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Newberry put the finishing touches on their ninth blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They claimed a resounding 69-39 victory over Union County on the road. Given Newberry's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 168th, while Union County is ranked 454th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hawthorne has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 14 games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-4 record this season. As for Newberry, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 15-7.
Hawthorne skirted past Newberry 43-41 when the teams last played back in February of 2023. Does Hawthorne have another victory up their sleeve, or will Newberry turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
