Rocky River is 2-8 against Independence since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Rocky River Ravens will head out on the road to challenge the Independence Patriots at 7:30 p.m. Rocky River will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps North Carolina Rankings (they are ranked 209th, while Independence is ranked 49th).
Last Tuesday, Rocky River came up short against Butler and fell 66-53. Rocky River has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Shamari Johnson, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 12 rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down nine or more in the last 13 games he's played. Jayden Ross was another key contributor, scoring 17 points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Independence had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 41 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They had just enough and edged East Mecklenburg out 57-54.
Independence got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Kaleb Jasper out in front who scored 11 points along with three steals. Jasper hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Tosh Alberga, who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds.
Rocky River's defeat was their third straight at home, which dropped their record down to 9-12. As for Independence, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-5 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Rocky River have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 48.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Independence struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.9 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Rocky River came up short against Independence in their previous meeting back in January, falling 64-55. Can Rocky River avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
