The Tri Titans will square off against the Morristown Yellow Jackets at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The timing is sure in Tri's favor as the team sits on six straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Morristown has been banged up by five consecutive losses on the road also dating back to last season.
Last Saturday, Tri beat Union City 57-50. Given the Titans' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 190th, while the Indians are ranked 401st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Tri's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Bryant Cornelius, who posted 18 points and four steals. Cornelius is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Cooper Engle, who earned 19 points along with six boards and five steals.
Tri was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Morristown was able to grind out a solid victory over Western Boone on Saturday, taking the game 57-48. With that win, the Yellow Jackets brought their scoring average up to 50.6 points per game.
Tri better focus on containing Kellen Crim and Colin Kieninger as the pair were huge in Morristown's win. Crim put up 20 points, while Kieninger almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Brayden Keithley, who had seven points and seven rebounds.
The victory got Morristown back to even at 4-4. As for Tri, their win bumped their record up to 6-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Tri has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 34.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Morristown struggles in that department as they've been averaging 21.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Tri against Morristown in their previous meeting back in February, as the squad secured a 66-39 victory. Does Tri have another victory up their sleeve, or will Morristown turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
