The Patuxent Panthers will look to take advantage of their home court for the first time this season as they take on the Lackey Chargers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Patuxent has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the contest with 15 straight defeats, while Lackey will come in with 12 straight wins.
Patuxent is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against St. Charles on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Patuxent took a blow against St. Charles, falling 73-35. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 297th, while St. Charles are ranked 116th).
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Kamauri Jones, who posted seven points and three steals.
Meanwhile, Lackey hadn't done well against North Point recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. Lackey narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past North Point 51-49. The score was all tied up 23-23 at the break, but the Chargers were the better team in the second half.
Patuxent better keep an eye on Malik Gordon. He was instrumental in Lackey's win, putting up 18 points and four steals. Gordon has been hot recently, having posted three or more steals the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kweli Tillman, who had eight points.
Lackey smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. They are a perfect 4-0 when they hit their own glass that hard.
Lackey pushed their record up to 18-2 with the win, which was their eighth straight on the road. As for Patuxent, their loss dropped their record down to 1-15.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Patuxent has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 23.1 boards per game. However, it's not like Lackey struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Patuxent came up short against Lackey in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 56-48. Can Patuxent avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
