The Jordan Warriors will head out on the road to face off against the Mayde Creek Rams at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Jordan only won by three when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 49-point they dealt Tompkins on Friday. Jordan took their game at home with ease, bagging a 92-43 victory over Tompkins. Given Jordan's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 94th, while Tompkins is ranked 444th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jordan's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Rayan Fadika, who scored 15 points along with two steals. Jaden Holt was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Mayde Creek came into Saturday's contest having lost seven straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They came out on top against Morton Ranch by a score of 76-63 on Saturday. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Bryan Hightower and Christian Gibson were among the main playmakers for Mayde Creek as the former went 7 for 11 from beyond the arc en route to 23 points and 0 assists and the latter scored 32 points along with six rebounds and two blocks. That makes it six consecutive games in which Gibson has scored at least a third of Mayde Creek's points. Another player making a difference was Edwin Cleveland, who scored eight points along with ten rebounds and five assists.
The victory makes it two in a row for Jordan and bumps their season record up to 24-8. As for Mayde Creek, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 11-20.
Saturday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Jordan have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 42.4% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Mayde Creek struggles in that department as they've made 42% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Jordan didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Mayde Creek in their previous meeting back in January, but they still walked away with a 51-46 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Gibson, who scored 19 points along with seven rebounds. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Jordan still be able to contain Gibson? There's only one way to find out.
